Lake-Effect Lasagna
I had a proud "scientist dad" moment at home last night, and it was even topical, considering that significant lake-effect snow accumulated last night for the first time this fall. Some of the totals over 10 inches so far:
ORCHARD PARK, NY: 16.0"
BLASDELL, NY: 13.0"
INTERLOCHEN, MI: 11.5"
TRAVERSE CITY, MI: 11.0"
HONOR, MI: 10.3"
MAPLE CITY, MI: 10.0"
File Photo (Much Fancier Than What I Eat)
We had lasagna for dinner last night, and I'm not one to have the patience to wait for it to cool and/or congeal when it comes right out of the oven. So I dished mine up and stuck it in the freezer. The freezer fan happened to be on at the time, so when I put the lasagna in, clouds of moisture started rising off of the tasty dinner and belching out the open freezer door. My inquisitive daughter asked what was happening. I happily replied that it was just like lake-effect snow...
In my freezer last night, I explained, the cold air travelling over the warm, moist lasagna created clouds through evaporation. In New York and Michigan last night, the cold air travelling over the warm, moist lakes created clouds through evaporation, which dropped lake-effect snow.
Now, that's not the only thing that contributes to lake-effect snow... orographic lifting has an effect.
There are two things necessary for generating clouds and precipitation. One is moisture. The other is rising air. Orographic lifting happens when the change in elevation causes air to rise.
Since the warm lakes are the primary reasons for lake-effect snow, the effect decreases through the winter as the lakes cool.
Can you have lake-effect rain?
You certainly can, and as I recall that was one of the questions our instructor asked us during our Senior Year final personal map discussions at UNC-A (I can't remember whether that was for me or someone else, but we got it right).
Though Lake-effect rain is normally not as interesting as lake-effect snow to meteorologists and residents, but it can be significant enough to cause flooding.
That's all for today's lesson -- now take a break and go help Garfield east lasagna.
Orographic Lifting?
Nope, Just Creative
Camera Positioning.
