AccuWeather's Bernie Rayno explains the mechanics that goes behind the creation of lake-effect snow as the season begins during the week of Thanksgiving for the Great Lakes region of the U.S.

Niagara Falls

The onset of lake-effect snow season has begun in the Great Lakes region, particularly affecting areas near Lakes Erie and Ontario. This weather phenomenon occurs when cold air passes over warmer lake waters, creating significant snowfall when the temperature difference between the lake surface and the air at 5,000 feet reaches 23°F.

Meteorologists report that westerly and west-northwesterly winds will direct the heaviest snowfall to specific snow belts, with conditions expected to resemble a blizzard due to gusty winds and blowing snow. The most intense snow is forecast to begin near the Western Lakes on Wednesday night and extend to Lakes Erie and Ontario by Thursday night.

Lake-effect snow season has arrived in the Great Lakes

As we go through November and December, all of a sudden it's lake effect snow season. Now lake effect snow happens when we have the colder air going over the warm water. And when you have a sufficient temperature difference between the water temperatures of the lake and the temperature at about 5,000 feet, you get lake effect snow. Usually you need that difference to be 23 degrees Fahrenheit. That is, the air at the loft is 23 degrees colder than the warm waters of the lake. So also you need cyclonic curvature around the storm to increase the upward motion. That you need is because it's usually lake effect snow occurring behind the storm, not out ahead of it, and oftentimes behind the storm you have downward motion. But that cyclonic curvature produces upward motion. Now, the wind direction is what determines where the lake bands set up. And in this case, we're going to see this first. More of a westerly wind at first, and then the winds go out of the west-northwest. So that's why we say the lake effect snow belts that get hit with a westerly wind and then the northwesterly winds are the ones that are going to get the most snow. All right, lake effect snow begins Wednesday night near the Western Lakes and then Thursday night across Lakes Erie and Ontario. And boy, oh boy, is the snow going to be coming down heavy as that cold air comes in from the west-northwest here. In fact, it will resemble a blizzard in those west-northwest snow belts because the winds are going to be quite gusty. They start Wednesday, Wednesday night, and those winds continue as we head into Thursday and Thursday night. And of course, with the snow and blowing snow, this is going to resemble a blizzard near the lakes. Stay safe.

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