at 12:12 PM by Pierce Larkin

Snowfall Impacts Great Lakes States Over the Weekend

Each wintertime, plenty of snowfall impacts the Great Lakes region of the US. The proximity to warm lake waters and cold air creates a combination that produces a lot of precipitation along the lake shores and inland from them.

The annual snowfall totals across the Great Lakes. h/t Weather.com
The annual snowfall totals across the Great Lakes. h/t Weather.com

Late last week and into this past weekend, a major outbreak of Arctic air spread southward across the central and eastern US. Temperatures at the core of this cold air in the Dakotas, Montana and northern plains barely exceeded zero over the weekend, with one station I looked at only making it to 5°F above zero. That 5°F as a high for the entire weekend.

Phew, it is still cold in the upper midwest! h/t COD Weather
Phew, it is still cold in the upper midwest! h/t COD Weather

Bismarck, ND’s high over the weekend was a whopping 3°F, with temperatures all weekend consistently being between 25 and 30 degrees below normal. This was a very anomalously cold air mass that moved into the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and northeastern US regions.

The mean temperature is the top map, and the temperature anomaly is the bottom map. These were both for Friday. h/t CPC
The mean temperature is the top map, and the temperature anomaly is the bottom map. These were both for Friday. h/t CPC
The mean temperature is the top map, and the temperature anomaly is the bottom map. These were both for Saturday. h/t CPC
The mean temperature is the top map, and the temperature anomaly is the bottom map. These were both for Saturday. h/t CPC

This leads us into the initial rounds of major snowfall in the Great Lakes. After the major cold front moved through on Thursday, winds shifted from the south or east to the northwest. Once this occurred, the angle between the winds and the lake became perfect for lake effect snow to begin forming along the Lakes of Michigan, Erie and Ontario. Not only this, but the water temperatures in the lake were very warm as well.

Water temperatures in the Great Lakes were upwards of 50 degrees, creating a steep lapse rate in the atmosphere. h/t Great Lakes Environment Research Lab
Water temperatures in the Great Lakes were upwards of 50 degrees, creating a steep lapse rate in the atmosphere. h/t Great Lakes Environment Research Lab

This is a key portion to lake effect snow. The surface temperatures right over the Great Lakes are typically fairly close to that of the water temperature. Once the cold airmass moved over the lakes, it created a perfect environment for lake effect snow to form. To learn more about lake effect snow, read about its formation here.

Lake effect snowfall fell for several days along Lake Michigan, Erie and Ontario. This piled up the snowfall in Michigan and western New York state. Several areas received over 20″ of snowfall in both locations, with a report of nearly 38″ in western New York!

The snowfall totals across Western New York this past weekend. h/t NWS Buffalo
The snowfall totals across Western New York this past weekend. h/t NWS Buffalo
The snowfall totals from the lake effect event across Michigan. h/t NWS Grand Rapids
The snowfall totals from the lake effect event across Michigan. h/t NWS Grand Rapids

And then another storm approached the region by Saturday afternoon. This snow event moved out of Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Illinois, and left behind a good amount of snowfall in that region (4-10″).

The snowfall across the upper Midwest over the weekend from the second system. h/t NWS Quad Cities
The snowfall across the upper Midwest over the weekend from the second system. h/t NWS Quad Cities

It then moved into Michigan and western New York, the same regions that were affected by the lake effect snowfall from late last week. It dropped significant amounts of snow in Michigan, but only produced light amounts in western New York.

The snowfall in Michigan from the second snow system of the weekend. h/t NWS Grand Rapids
The snowfall in Michigan from the second snow system of the weekend. h/t NWS Grand Rapids

The weekend was filled with snowfall that even impacted some NFL games yesterday. The Browns vs Bengals saw snowfall, and there was snowfall in the Bills vs Steelers game.

Overall, while many of us saw very cold conditions locally, many to our north saw significant snowfall over the weekend. I love the cold, but man, I am jealous of those in Michigan and New York. I could go for a good snowfall right now. Check out a few pictures from Twitter of the snowfall, and just let yourself be jealous of the snow. It would be awesome.

Holy cow! That is some heavy snowfall. Both videos from @ReedTimmerAccu on Twitter.