Can lake-effect snow happen anywhere?

Anywhere! Lake effect snow can occur over any unfrozen body of water where the fetch is long enough to gather enough moisture to create snow. Lake effect snow can occur over Lake Tahoe, the Great Salt Lake, the finger lakes, and even has been reported over rivers in the Midwest!



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All that water picked up from the lake normally travels no further than about 25 miles away before falling, but it can sometimes travel as far as 100 miles away! That moisture can make for a whole lot of snow. Luckily for people living near large lakes, lake effect snow generally slows down around February.

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Lake effect snows are common downwind of the Great Lakes in the United States and Canada, the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and in parts of Scandinavia, Korea, and Japan.

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  • Western Michigan, Northwestern Lower Michigan, and Northern Indiana can experience heavy lake-effect snow. ...
  • The region east and southeast of Lake Ontario frequently sees daily snowfall totals that are higher than anywhere in the United States.


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Lake Ontario and Lake Erie Snowbelts The region east and southeast of Lake Ontario frequently sees daily snowfall totals that are higher than anywhere in the United States. Syracuse, New York, receives significant lake-effect snow from Lake Ontario, averaging 116 inches (294 cm) of snow per year.

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Lake-effect snow can form on small lakes just as it does in the Great Lakes. Salt Lake City, Fort Worth and Carson City, Nevada have all had bouts of snow from lakes. Inland lake-effect and ocean-effect doesn't just occur in the United States.

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Worldwide some locations that get substantial lake-effect snows include Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Scandinavia off the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, and Canada when cold air passes across Hudson Bay, the Gulf of St.

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Lake-effect snow generally doesn't fall over the water because it needs the friction and topography of the land to bring out the snow. Winds usually blow west to east in the Northern Hemisphere, so the lake-enhanced snow is pushed to the eastern side of the Great Lakes, Miller said.

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Due to the prevailing winds, areas south of Buffalo receive much more lake-effect snow than locations to the north. The lake snow machine can start as early as mid November, peaks in December, then virtually shuts down after Lake Erie freezes in mid to late January.

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Flexi Says: Toronto does experience lake effect snow. This phenomenon occurs when cold air masses move over warmer lake waters, leading to the formation of clouds and precipitation downwind of the lake. The Great Lakes, including Lake Ontario which is near Toronto, are known for producing significant lake effect snow.

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