Lake-effect snow accompanies cold blast in the East
By
Mary Gilbert, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Nov 17, 2020 11:57 PM EDT
A dashcam captures the scary moment a vehicle slips on the icy highway and collides with the police cruiser in Detroit, Michigan, on Nov. 17.
A potent storm that brought damaging winds across the Great Lakes and Northeast late in the weekend unleashed a blast of wintry weather across the region on Tuesday. In some areas, heavy bursts of snowfall created dangerous travel conditions, including around Detroit, where troopers responded to several winter-weather-related crashes.
Lake-effect snow began on Sunday for portions of northern Wisconsin and Michigan. By Sunday night, portions of western and central New York as well as northwestern Pennsylvania were experiencing wintry precipitation.
A reinforcing shot of cold air arrived across the region on Monday and Monday night, setting the stage for the lake-effect snow machine to crank up a couple of gears Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Some portions of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, as well as upstate New York were blanketed by several inches of new snow by Tuesday afternoon. Forecasters say the flurries will continue to fly into Tuesday evening, depositing a few more inches where snow is most persistent on Tuesday before finally tapering off. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches is expected by the time snow stops falling.
Lake-effect snow falls when the air is significantly colder than the surface of the water in the Great Lakes. As the moist air from the Great Lakes is forced over land and rises in elevation, snow is produced.
As is typical of lake-effect snow events, snow amounts can vary significantly within a short distance.
"During a lake-effect event, the intensity of the snow usually depends on how much colder the air is above the ground, when compared to the surface temperature of the lake," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
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With the fresh push of colder air, lake-effect snow bands were able to travel farther south and east into the central Appalachians through Tuesday.
The lake-effect snow bands and squalls will also continue to be more mobile through Tuesday, moving around instead of sitting over a narrow area. While this will keep accumulation totals relatively low compared to the impressive amounts that can bury communities downwind of the Great Lakes, it will pose another hazard.
Lake-effect snow squalls and bands could create a very real danger for motorists with visibilities dropping to near zero in a matter of moments.
These conditions, known as "whiteouts" may not allow drivers to even see the car in front of them and can make road conditions slippery in a hurry.
Numerous accidents were reported in the Detroit area when a snow squall moved through and quickly coated roadways and reduced visibility Tuesday morning. Snow has since let up in the city, and additional snowfall accumulations are not expected, according to AccuWeather WinterCast for Detroit.
Michigan State Police posted dramatic dash cam footage on Twitter Tuesday showing a car careening out of control and sliding across multiple lanes of traffic before colliding head-on with a police cruiser. The video was accompanied by an admonishment to "drive slow on snow and ice." MSP Sergeant William Hewitt confirmed to AccuWeather that no one was injured in the crash, which occurred on an overpass -- bridges and overpasses are notorious for icing over before roads.
Hewitt told AccuWeather that roadways "on the west and north side of Metro Detroit froze" for a period on Tuesday morning and “everything was a sheet of ice.” He said it seemed like road crews may have not been ready for the wintry weather because it took a while for salt trucks to begin treating the city streets.
For those who didn't receive a wintry taste from snowflakes, there will still be plenty of cold to serve as a reminder that's it's the middle of November. After a November heat wave last week, much of the East will feel temperatures that are 5 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit below normal through Wednesday.
Along much of the Interstate I-95 corridor from Bangor, Maine, to New York City, high temperatures Wednesday will struggle through the 30s. Farther south, highs will struggle into the 40s. As far south as Raleigh, high temperatures may not climb out of the 40s. The normal high in Raleigh for Nov. 18 is 63 F. From Boston to Washington, D.C., normal high temperatures are generally in the lower to middle 50s.
A raw breeze will also add to the cold. Those heading out first thing Wednesday morning in much of the interior Northeast will find AccuWeather RealFeel® temperatures in the lower teens and single digits. RealFeel® temperatures in the 20s are forecast to dive as far south as Wilmington, North Carolina. Even in the afternoon, RealFeel® temperatures will struggle out of the 20s and 30s.
Hats, gloves and scarves will be a must for kids waiting for the bus or walking to school. Wednesday will feel more like a mid-January day, rather than mid-November.
The cold blast will be short-lived, however, as conditions will quickly turn warmer for the East by the weekend.
For all winter-weather coverage, visit AccuWeather's Winter Center.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
Lake-effect snow accompanies cold blast in the East
By Mary Gilbert, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Nov 17, 2020 11:57 PM EDT
A dashcam captures the scary moment a vehicle slips on the icy highway and collides with the police cruiser in Detroit, Michigan, on Nov. 17.
A potent storm that brought damaging winds across the Great Lakes and Northeast late in the weekend unleashed a blast of wintry weather across the region on Tuesday. In some areas, heavy bursts of snowfall created dangerous travel conditions, including around Detroit, where troopers responded to several winter-weather-related crashes.
Lake-effect snow began on Sunday for portions of northern Wisconsin and Michigan. By Sunday night, portions of western and central New York as well as northwestern Pennsylvania were experiencing wintry precipitation.
A reinforcing shot of cold air arrived across the region on Monday and Monday night, setting the stage for the lake-effect snow machine to crank up a couple of gears Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Some portions of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, as well as upstate New York were blanketed by several inches of new snow by Tuesday afternoon. Forecasters say the flurries will continue to fly into Tuesday evening, depositing a few more inches where snow is most persistent on Tuesday before finally tapering off. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches is expected by the time snow stops falling.
Lake-effect snow falls when the air is significantly colder than the surface of the water in the Great Lakes. As the moist air from the Great Lakes is forced over land and rises in elevation, snow is produced.
As is typical of lake-effect snow events, snow amounts can vary significantly within a short distance.
"During a lake-effect event, the intensity of the snow usually depends on how much colder the air is above the ground, when compared to the surface temperature of the lake," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
With the fresh push of colder air, lake-effect snow bands were able to travel farther south and east into the central Appalachians through Tuesday.
The lake-effect snow bands and squalls will also continue to be more mobile through Tuesday, moving around instead of sitting over a narrow area. While this will keep accumulation totals relatively low compared to the impressive amounts that can bury communities downwind of the Great Lakes, it will pose another hazard.
Lake-effect snow squalls and bands could create a very real danger for motorists with visibilities dropping to near zero in a matter of moments.
These conditions, known as "whiteouts" may not allow drivers to even see the car in front of them and can make road conditions slippery in a hurry.
Numerous accidents were reported in the Detroit area when a snow squall moved through and quickly coated roadways and reduced visibility Tuesday morning. Snow has since let up in the city, and additional snowfall accumulations are not expected, according to AccuWeather WinterCast for Detroit.
Michigan State Police posted dramatic dash cam footage on Twitter Tuesday showing a car careening out of control and sliding across multiple lanes of traffic before colliding head-on with a police cruiser. The video was accompanied by an admonishment to "drive slow on snow and ice." MSP Sergeant William Hewitt confirmed to AccuWeather that no one was injured in the crash, which occurred on an overpass -- bridges and overpasses are notorious for icing over before roads.
Hewitt told AccuWeather that roadways "on the west and north side of Metro Detroit froze" for a period on Tuesday morning and “everything was a sheet of ice.” He said it seemed like road crews may have not been ready for the wintry weather because it took a while for salt trucks to begin treating the city streets.
For those who didn't receive a wintry taste from snowflakes, there will still be plenty of cold to serve as a reminder that's it's the middle of November. After a November heat wave last week, much of the East will feel temperatures that are 5 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit below normal through Wednesday.
Along much of the Interstate I-95 corridor from Bangor, Maine, to New York City, high temperatures Wednesday will struggle through the 30s. Farther south, highs will struggle into the 40s. As far south as Raleigh, high temperatures may not climb out of the 40s. The normal high in Raleigh for Nov. 18 is 63 F. From Boston to Washington, D.C., normal high temperatures are generally in the lower to middle 50s.
A raw breeze will also add to the cold. Those heading out first thing Wednesday morning in much of the interior Northeast will find AccuWeather RealFeel® temperatures in the lower teens and single digits. RealFeel® temperatures in the 20s are forecast to dive as far south as Wilmington, North Carolina. Even in the afternoon, RealFeel® temperatures will struggle out of the 20s and 30s.
Hats, gloves and scarves will be a must for kids waiting for the bus or walking to school. Wednesday will feel more like a mid-January day, rather than mid-November.
The cold blast will be short-lived, however, as conditions will quickly turn warmer for the East by the weekend.
Related:
For all winter-weather coverage, visit AccuWeather's Winter Center.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo