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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In the U.S. lake effect snow commonly occurs across northern Wisconsin, western Michigan, northwestern New York, northwestern Pennsylvania and the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
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.
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.