Lake Effect Snow, also called snow showers, results from cold, arctic air traveling over a relatively warm body of water. The cold, dry air collects the moisture from the lake and deposits it, in the form of snow, on the ground. In Cleveland, the wind generally blows from the west across Lake Erie and dumps Lake Effect snow into the city’s eastern suburbs, from Shaker Heights to Buffalo.
When does the lake effect occur?
In Cleveland, the Lake Effect snow occurs early in the season, before Lake Erie has a chance to freeze. During most winters, Lake Erie, the shallowest of all the Great Lakes, freezes over in mid-January. Once frozen, the cold air cannot pick up the moisture from the lake and the Lake Effect ceases. Lake Effect snow often occurs again in late winter and early spring when the lake begins to thaw.
What does it mean in Cleveland?
Lake Effect produces heavy snowfall, up to 6 “in an hour. It is also relatively unpredictable and can be preceded by periods of sunshine. In early fall, when the ground temperature is relatively high, there will occasionally be a thunderstorm – snow accompanied by thunder and lighting. In northeastern Ohio, the “snow belt” runs east of the city, from the suburbs of “heights” to the Pennsylvania state line.
Other areas with lake effect snow
The lake effect occurs throughout the Great Lakes, generally on the southeastern shores. Since the Lake Effect is drawn to higher elevations, the phenomenon is also found as far inland as the Appalachian peaks of West Virginia. In addition to the five Great Lakes, the Lake Effect also occurs over the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
Lake effect benefits
In addition to creating picturesque winter vignettes in small eastern Ohio towns such as Chardon, Burton, and Madison, Lake Effect’s snow has an insulating benefit for wine producers, produce, and nurseries across the lake and Ashtabula County, Ohio. . The snow cover helps keep soil temperatures even and the early frost helps produce some of the best ice wines in America.
Effect of the lake on popular culture
The term “lake effect” has become so ingrained in the Northeast Ohio lexicon that it has even become a book title. Cleveland-area mystery writer Les Roberts titled his fifth Milan Jacovich novel, Lake Effect.
