Lake Effect Snow: When Opposing Forces Meet
The Lake Effect
Geva, 2017
Did you know?
* Lake effect snow occurs in several places around the world including the Great Lakes, the
east shore of Hudson Bay, along the west coasts of Japanese islands Honshu and Hokkaido,
the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, and areas near the Great Salt Lake of Utah, Lake
Champlain near Vermont and New York, Lake Winnipeg in Canada, and the Black Sea,
Caspian Sea, and Baltic Sea.
* Large urban areas situated near water (such as Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse,
South Bend, and other Great Lakes cities) may help create or intensify lake effect snow.
Cities are usually warmer than their surrounding areas (adding to the warmth of the heat
acquired from the lake that collides with the arctic air), automobile exhaust combines with
natural iodine in the air increasing the possibility of ice crystal formation, and industry
(such as steel mills and factories) emits particles that aid in ice forming.
* Syracuse, New York holds the title of America’s Snowiest Large City. However, top lake
effect snow accumulations from Lake Ontario include:
*7 inches in 30 minutes (December 2010, West Seneca, NY)
*12 inches in 1 hour (December 1966, Copenhagen, NY)
*17.5 inches in 2 hours (January 1972, Oswego, NY)
*40 inches in 12 hours (January 1997, Montague, NY)
*77 inches in 24 hours (January 1997, Montague, NY)
*127 inches in 6 days (December 2001, Montague, NY)
*141 inches in 10 days (February 2007, Redfield, NY)
* Meanwhile, Lake Erie has produced:
*88 inches in 3 days (November 2014, Buffalo, NY)
*82.3 inches in 4 days (December 2001, Buffalo, NY)
*70 inches in 5 days (November 1996, Cleveland, OH)