What areas get the most lake-effect snow?

The region most commonly affected spans from Port Stanley in the west, the Bruce Peninsula in the north, Niagara-on-the-Lake to the east, and Fort Erie to the south. The heaviest accumulations usually happen in the Bruce Peninsula, which is between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.



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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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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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Lake Superior has the greatest impact on local snowfall amounts with 100% more winter precipitation falling downwind compared to Lakes Erie and Ontario that only have precipitation increases of 15% from the lake-effects.

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Lake-effect snow is a frequent contributor to our seasonal snowfall in Chicago and with Lake Michigan almost ice free, the lake-effect snow machine is open for business provided a cold wind is blowing in our favor in the right direction. Nearly 93% of the Great Lakes does not have significant ice cover.

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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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Lake Effect Snow (LES) is very common across the Great Lakes region during the late fall and winter. LES occurs when cold air, often originating from Canada, moves across the open waters of the Great Lakes.

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Luckily for people living near large lakes, lake effect snow generally slows down around February. That's when the lakes freeze over, making it impossible for the air to steal moisture away from the lake.

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