When the Great Lakes freeze over what happens to lake-effect snow?

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. Not surprisingly, Buffalo is one of the snowiest cities in the country.



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Lake Ontario and Lake Erie Snowbelts Due to its relatively shallow depths, Lake Erie has the distinction of being the only Great Lake capable of completely freezing over. As it freezes throughout the winter, and the supply of moisture from the lake surface is cut off, lake-effect snow events cease.

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When the Great Lakes freeze over, what happens to lake effect snow? It ceases.

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Lake Effect snow occurs when cold air, often originating from Canada, moves across the open waters of the Great Lakes. As the cold air passes over the unfrozen and relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes, warmth and moisture are transferred into the lowest portion of the atmosphere.

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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 Michigan Snowbelt Western Michigan, Northwestern Lower Michigan, and Northern Indiana can experience heavy lake-effect snow.

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Once an ice film has formed on the surface of the lake and the air above the ice continues to be colder than the ice, the ice will thicken. The cold air above the ice causes heat to leave the lake water under the ice and from the ice itself. This causes the water below the ice to freeze into successively deeper layers.

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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 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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