The Unpredictable Lake Effect Snow Machine

Howling, frigid winds and heavy bands of snow squalls pounded inland areas south of Lake Erie as the New Year was hardly 48 hours old. Lake effect snow warnings were posted shorty after the new decade began and the snow began to fall in earnest hours later.

Even for the locals, who live south and inland from the Lake Erie, the storm has been brutal and relentless. While the storm will ease somewhat, lingering snows and gusty winds are forecast for the next several days, the opening week of a New Year.

Lake effect snows bury many regions south of the Great Lakes when arctic and dry air from further north sweeps across the warmer waters of the lakes. Unpredictable and shifting winds can drive and drop the moisture further inland.

As the New Year opened, large areas received two to three feet of snow with menacing drifts between five and six feet whipped by winds which howled at 25 to thirty miles per hour with gusts reaching forty.

Knee deep snows were common away from the Lake Erie shoreline; near the shore at the Erie International Airport recorded just over 4 inches, while inland some twenty miles were reports of two to three feet of snow. Buffalo, New York, also a lake shore city, recorded 6 inches, nearby Niagara Falls recorded 16 inches while inland Perrysburg 30 miles away, passed the 30 inch mark. Similar measurements were taken in northern and inland Ohio as the first week of the New Year entered history.

Any lake effect snow storm produces a history of surprises. During some lake effect storms, an entire region, hundreds of square miles large, share the storm; at other times one location will suffer through a blizzard, while twenty miles away, the sun will shine.

Even a slight change in wind direction can send the snow hundreds of miles away. Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, Watertown., Meadville, Mercer, and Pittsburgh, and many other smaller communities all have their stories.

The New Year's storm was even more unpredictable because of a low pressure system off the coast of New England which added more moisture and changing winds over the Great Lakes. When a lake effect combines with another system meteorologists call the system a snow "lake effect - enhanced system". It means more unpredictable snowfall - somewhere.

While a lake effect storm, referred to by locals as the "lake-effect snow machine", creates havoc for some, others counted their blessings. Private snow plow drivers were making money, as were snow shovelers at apartment and condo units, small shops, and private homes; ski resorts were blanketed with white powder, as were cross country trails and snowshoe trails.

Bars and restaurants did a brisk business as snowmobile's took to the roads and trails. While some hunters and trappers were dismayed, the ice was forming quickly on many of the small inland lakes much to the satisfaction of ice fishing anglers.

The heavy snows also help to insulated the ground, protecting trees, shrubs and plants and the soil itself; later when the melting begins, water tables, the underground reservoirs, will be filled to overflowing.

Some years the snow machine can kick in early in October when a cold dry air mass flows from the north. These storms are often accompanied by awesome thunder and lightening and called "thundersnow". A heavy snow squall with a natural light and sound show is a unique storm, only produced by complex weather systems. Often these early thunder snow storms bring down trees and leave laden branches, power outages are common.

In some years, or by mid-winter, the waters on the Great Lakes will freeze; the ice prevents the cold dry winds from picking up any moisture; the plug is pulled on the snow machine. Warm weather in late winter can melt the protective ice cover, bringing the snow machine back to life in late March and April with disheartening weather as eyes search for spring weather.

When traveling anywhere in the Great Lakes region from early October through April, be prepared. Extra warm clothing, flashlights and extra batteries, needed medical supplies, food and water, cell phones or some form of communication device, and even a deck of cards are all important items. It's not uncommon for interstate highways to close because of severe weather.

Generally, there is an ample time to prepare when a heavy snow squall warning is issued; stay tuned to forecasts. But the storm bands are unpredictable and complex weather systems which can defy accuracy at times. There are times, when sudden, unpredicted storms can form testing preparedness, skills and determination.

A lake effect snowstorm is a powerful, complex and amazing weather system; it requires basic common sense and some basic luck. Be prepared and enjoy the spectacle of thunder snow, white-outs and frigid howling winds, it doesn't happen everywhere.