Lake-effect snow machine to fire up early this week
By
Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Nov 14, 2021 1:28 PM EDT
|
Updated Nov 15, 2021 6:42 AM EDT
A wintry mix rolls into the Buffalo, New York, area on Nov. 13.
In the wake of an Alberta clipper that brought snow to the Great Lakes on Sunday morning and to the interior Northeast on Sunday afternoon and evening, AccuWeather meteorologists say that will not be the end of the snow.
While most of the lake-effect snow is still to come, some locations had a preview on Saturday. For example, a band of heavy lake-effect snow set up over Buffalo, New York, on Saturday morning. This dropped 1.7 inches of snow and was the city's first accumulating snow of the season. Normally, the first accumulating snow occurs on Nov. 8, in Buffalo, so it was several days later than average.
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"With Great Lakes water temperatures still running well above average, robust lake-effect snow showers will develop as northwest winds sweep in behind the clipper system," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham.
Clear skies in the early morning of 10 November 2021 allowed mapping of lake surface temperatures from VIIRS satellite data acquired at CIMSS. Much of Lake Superior was in the mid-40s ºF while much of central Lake Erie is in the upper 50s. (SSEC/CIMSS)
Some lake-effect snow was already occurring on Sunday morning farther to the west.
"Lake-effect first began off of Lake Superior on Sunday morning, causing roads to quickly become snow-covered across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan," noted Buckingham.
Lake Superior is the northwestern-most of the Great Lakes and is often the first to produce lake-effect snow since weather usually moves from west to east.
"Progressing through the day on Sunday and into Sunday night, the lake-effect snow machine kicked on across Lakes Michigan and Huron," stated Buckingham.
As the colder air continues to work southeastward, more areas will receive snow on Monday.
"During the day on Monday, lake-effect snow showers are expected to stream downwind of all five Great Lakes," said Buckingham.
Even though the air mass will be quite cold and many locations will receive accumulating snow, this will not be the case in all areas where snow falls. Typically by the middle of November, any areas that have lake-effect have precipitation fall in the form of snow. Due to the aforementioned abnormally warm lakes, that will not happen this time.
"With lake temperatures still well above freezing, some locales along the immediate lakeshores can expect a cold rain to mix in with the snow at times," explained Buckingham.
In addition, during the afternoon hours on Monday, most temperatures over the land areas will rise above freezing. Therefore, much of the accumulation that could cause slippery roads will be restricted to Monday morning. Even where snow falls all day, some melting may occur.
In some of the most intense snow bands, thunder and lightning are not uncommon. However, that is not expected on Monday. While also unlikely with this round of lake-effect snow, another potential hazard can sometimes exist.
"Although it may seem like an odd time of year to think about it, some lake-effect rain and snow showers over the lakes can even produce waterspouts," cautioned Buckingham.
Lingering lake-effect snow may linger into Tuesday off of the eastern Great Lakes. Warmer weather is then expected by midweek.
However, colder air will return by the end of the week, and lake-effect snow may again fall by Friday.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Winter Weather
Lake-effect snow machine to fire up early this week
By Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Nov 14, 2021 1:28 PM EDT | Updated Nov 15, 2021 6:42 AM EDT
A wintry mix rolls into the Buffalo, New York, area on Nov. 13.
In the wake of an Alberta clipper that brought snow to the Great Lakes on Sunday morning and to the interior Northeast on Sunday afternoon and evening, AccuWeather meteorologists say that will not be the end of the snow.
While most of the lake-effect snow is still to come, some locations had a preview on Saturday. For example, a band of heavy lake-effect snow set up over Buffalo, New York, on Saturday morning. This dropped 1.7 inches of snow and was the city's first accumulating snow of the season. Normally, the first accumulating snow occurs on Nov. 8, in Buffalo, so it was several days later than average.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"With Great Lakes water temperatures still running well above average, robust lake-effect snow showers will develop as northwest winds sweep in behind the clipper system," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham.
Clear skies in the early morning of 10 November 2021 allowed mapping of lake surface temperatures from VIIRS satellite data acquired at CIMSS. Much of Lake Superior was in the mid-40s ºF while much of central Lake Erie is in the upper 50s. (SSEC/CIMSS)
Some lake-effect snow was already occurring on Sunday morning farther to the west.
"Lake-effect first began off of Lake Superior on Sunday morning, causing roads to quickly become snow-covered across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan," noted Buckingham.
Lake Superior is the northwestern-most of the Great Lakes and is often the first to produce lake-effect snow since weather usually moves from west to east.
"Progressing through the day on Sunday and into Sunday night, the lake-effect snow machine kicked on across Lakes Michigan and Huron," stated Buckingham.
As the colder air continues to work southeastward, more areas will receive snow on Monday.
"During the day on Monday, lake-effect snow showers are expected to stream downwind of all five Great Lakes," said Buckingham.
Even though the air mass will be quite cold and many locations will receive accumulating snow, this will not be the case in all areas where snow falls. Typically by the middle of November, any areas that have lake-effect have precipitation fall in the form of snow. Due to the aforementioned abnormally warm lakes, that will not happen this time.
"With lake temperatures still well above freezing, some locales along the immediate lakeshores can expect a cold rain to mix in with the snow at times," explained Buckingham.
In addition, during the afternoon hours on Monday, most temperatures over the land areas will rise above freezing. Therefore, much of the accumulation that could cause slippery roads will be restricted to Monday morning. Even where snow falls all day, some melting may occur.
In some of the most intense snow bands, thunder and lightning are not uncommon. However, that is not expected on Monday. While also unlikely with this round of lake-effect snow, another potential hazard can sometimes exist.
"Although it may seem like an odd time of year to think about it, some lake-effect rain and snow showers over the lakes can even produce waterspouts," cautioned Buckingham.
Lingering lake-effect snow may linger into Tuesday off of the eastern Great Lakes. Warmer weather is then expected by midweek.
However, colder air will return by the end of the week, and lake-effect snow may again fall by Friday.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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