WINTER STORMFeet of Lake-Effect Snow With Blizzard Conditions to Slam Eastern Great LakesBy weather.com meteorologists
9:00pm / Feb.27,2020
weather.com
<---*(
FORECAST MAPS)*--->
https://weather.com/maps/planner <---*(
LIVE U.S. RADAR)*--->
https://myownradar.alerteagle.com/comp/800x500/usa.gif <*---(
LIVE DAILY N.O.A.A. GOES 16 GEO-COLOR SATELLITE IMAGE)*--->
https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES/sector_band.php?sat=G16§or=can&band=GEOCOLOR&length=24 https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES/conus_band.php?sat=G16&band=GEOCOLOR&length=24____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
At a Glance* Heavy lake-effect snow is expected in the eastern Great Lakes through Saturday.
* Intense snowfall rates and blizzard conditions will make travel difficult or impossible.
* Feet of snow could fall in localized areas of western and north-central New York, where blizzard warnings are posted.
* The heaviest snow is expected to fall south of Buffalo and north of Syracuse, particularly on the Tug Hill Plateau.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A heavy round of lake-effect snow with blizzard conditions will be measured in feet in parts of the eastern Great Lakes snowbelts through Saturday.
Bands of heavy lake-effect snow have intensified as a low-pressure system funnels cold west to northwesterly winds across the Great Lakes.
The low-pressure system, named Winter Storm Odell by The Weather Channel, brought snow from the Great Lakes to northern New England. But the heaviest snow of the event was falling in the wake of Odell, in the form of lake-effect snow as winds align across the Great Lakes.
Redfield, New York, located on the Tug Hill Plateau east of Lake Ontario, has picked up 11 inches so far. In the snow-prone area just south of Buffalo, Stocktown reported 10 inches and Dewittville picked up 8 inches by late Thursday afternoon.
A lightning strike or two on the Tug Hill Plateau were even reported by NWS Buffalo Thursday evening.
Bands of lake-effect snow have also developed in the wake of Odell in northern and western Michigan and northeastern Ohio.
Heavy lake-effect or lake-enhanced snowfall will continue into Friday morning in western and central New York, northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio. The snow could persist in some of these areas through Friday and into Saturday as well.
TWITTER VIDEO LINKhttps://twitter.com/i/status/1233191289732005889The heaviest snowfall totals are likely to be southeast of Lake Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York, and east of Lake Ontario in north-central New York. Snowfall rates could top 2 inches per hour in the heaviest snowbands, according to the National Weather Service.
Localized snow totals of 2 to 4 feet are possible to the east of Lake Ontario on New York's Tug Hill Plateau, north of Syracuse. A foot or more could pile up southeast of Lake Erie, south of downtown Buffalo.
Winds gusting from 45 to 60 mph into Friday will produce significant blowing and drifting snow in the eastern Great Lakes. The National Weather Service has issued blizzard warnings to the southeast of Lake Erie (Wyoming, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany and southern Erie counties in western New York) and to the east of Lake Ontario (Oswego, Jefferson, Lewis, northern Herkimer and Hamilton counties in north-central New York).
Blizzard conditions – wind gusts of at least 35 mph and visibilities of less than one-quarter mile for at least three hours – were reported in Watertown, New York, for six hours on Thursday, and near-blizzard conditions continued into Thursday night.
Winds gusted as high as 62 mph near Fredonia, New York, on Thursday night.
TWITTER VIDEO LINKhttps://twitter.com/i/status/1233094821352529921The snow and high wind will make travel difficult or impossible at times, including along portions of Interstate 81 between Syracuse and Watertown, New York, and Interstate 90 between Buffalo and Erie, Pennsylvania.
The strong winds will also generate pounding surf on lakes Erie and Ontario, which in combination with continued high water levels, will create another round of possible lakeshore flooding.
A lakeshore flood warning has been issued by the NWS for areas near Lake Erie's shore in southwestern New York into Thursday night. There is also a lakeshore flood warning in effect east of Lake Ontario through Friday morning for Oswego and Jefferson counties.
Lakeshore flooding has already been reported along Route 5 near Hamburg, New York, and portions of the roadway have been closed due to the flooding and spray from the lakes.
Water levels on the eastern end of Lake Erie rose as much as 3 feet in 24 hours from Wednesday afternoon into Thursday afternoon. While these rises wouldn't usually be a problem, the already higher-than-usual lake levels could become a serious concern as winds increase.
TWITTER MESSAGES LINKhttps://twitter.com/NWSBUFFALO/status/1233016174671056898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fweather.com%2Fstorms%2Fwinter%2Fnews%2F2020-02-25-lake-effect-snow-forecast-great-lakesHow Does Lake-Effect Snow Develop?
Lake-effect snow happens when cold air flows over the relatively warmer lake waters in late fall and winter. That can lead to the formation of clouds and sometimes intense bands of snow in localized areas. For more details on the science behind lake-effect snow, see our explainer.
What's unusual about this year is that Lake Erie has less than 1% ice coverage on its surface. In a typical year, ice has covered about 62% of the lake by Feb. 27, according to the 1973-to-2019 average.
Since Lake Erie's waters are wide open, it's able to produce more significant lake-effect snow later in winter.
Storm RecapOdell spread snow from the Northwest to the interior Northeast and New England, starting on the weekend of Feb. 22-23.
The top snow total from Odell was 31 inches in Lead, South Dakota, in the Black Hills near the Wyoming state line.
Odell then spread snow into the Midwest from Feb. 25-26. Though it produced less snow than earlier forecast in parts of the western Great Lakes, parts of northern Indiana, northwest Ohio and southern Lower Michigan picked up just over 6 inches of snow.
Odell then spread snow into parts of the interior Northeast, from western and central New York to northern New England. The storm was still producing snow across northern New Hampshire and northern Maine on Thursday.
A total of 11.1 inches was reported Thursday afternoon near Randolph, New Hampshire, while 11 inches fell just west of Carrabassett Valley, Maine.
As upper-level energy swung around to the south side of Odell, the storm took on an east-west configuration. This allowed strong west and northwest winds to blow across the Great Lakes for several days, a favorable set-up for lake-effect snow.
Because of unusually mild temperatures this winter, the amount of ice cover has been running well below average across the Great Lakes. This open water enhanced the temperature contrast between the surface and the colder air aloft, which supported intense lake-effect snow.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news,
the environment and the importance of science to our lives.
This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
