Naghmeh Anvari
Meteorology 10
Research Paper
December 11, 2015
Lake-Effect Snow Imagine living near the shores of the Great Lakes like Lake Erie or Lake Ontario. On a cold winter day, you feel the cold wind coming towards you and the sky starts to get dark. Then a brief snowfall starts and then suddenly the sky gets darker and the snow gets heavier and this event and the weather change is called the Lake-Effect snow. If you live in the Great Lakes region, perhaps you are familiar with the Lake-Effect snow. The main focus of this paper is on Lake-effect snow, what it is and how they form, and why do we need to learn about them. The Lake-Effect snow is also called the Lake-Effect enhanced snow and the entire process begins when the continental …show more content…
In the past, there were not as much data or technologies to make predictions as there is today. With the advancement of technology, scientists have found ways to predict such heavy Lake Effect snowfalls. The simplest prediction is the temperature difference of land and water. The higher their difference is, the more likely snowstorms happen near shoreline (“Lake Effect Snow”, n.d.). According to a 2000 article called Lake Effect and Lake Enhanced snow in the Champlain Valley of Vermont, Alexandar Tardy notes that scientists have come up with software called BUFFKIT (Buffalo toolkit) which is able to predict the magnitude, the areas that it covers, and the amount of time the event lasts. He also mentions "lake effect forecasting has improved with the development of high resolution models that recognize local terrain features and the existence of large lakes” (Tardy, 2000). In addition, you can also see this phenomena on a Radar Doppler as it is shown in figure …show more content…
So by understanding this phenomena we are able to predict when the event will happen which gives time for people to prepare, or make arrangements or prepare to clear up the roads. Climate change has a big effect on the Lake Effect Snow. As you can see in Figure 3, the amount of Lake Effect Snow has increased since 1930 and it is still ongoing. The reasoning behind it is that the water temperature has also increased for the past years. There are some other factors that may have an affect on the increase in the temperature of the water. For example, in small cities the surrounding air is warmer and when it passes urban areas it gets warmer. In addition, particles that are emitted from industries and cars can also make it possible for the snow storms to grow(“Lake Effect Snow”, n.d.).
Figure 3. Increase of Lake-Effect Snow Global warming is also a climate change that is caused by human activities such as fossil fuels, or deforestation. When the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide increase, then the temperature also
Meteorology 10
Research Paper
December 11, 2015
Lake-Effect Snow Imagine living near the shores of the Great Lakes like Lake Erie or Lake Ontario. On a cold winter day, you feel the cold wind coming towards you and the sky starts to get dark. Then a brief snowfall starts and then suddenly the sky gets darker and the snow gets heavier and this event and the weather change is called the Lake-Effect snow. If you live in the Great Lakes region, perhaps you are familiar with the Lake-Effect snow. The main focus of this paper is on Lake-effect snow, what it is and how they form, and why do we need to learn about them. The Lake-Effect snow is also called the Lake-Effect enhanced snow and the entire process begins when the continental …show more content…
In the past, there were not as much data or technologies to make predictions as there is today. With the advancement of technology, scientists have found ways to predict such heavy Lake Effect snowfalls. The simplest prediction is the temperature difference of land and water. The higher their difference is, the more likely snowstorms happen near shoreline (“Lake Effect Snow”, n.d.). According to a 2000 article called Lake Effect and Lake Enhanced snow in the Champlain Valley of Vermont, Alexandar Tardy notes that scientists have come up with software called BUFFKIT (Buffalo toolkit) which is able to predict the magnitude, the areas that it covers, and the amount of time the event lasts. He also mentions "lake effect forecasting has improved with the development of high resolution models that recognize local terrain features and the existence of large lakes” (Tardy, 2000). In addition, you can also see this phenomena on a Radar Doppler as it is shown in figure …show more content…
So by understanding this phenomena we are able to predict when the event will happen which gives time for people to prepare, or make arrangements or prepare to clear up the roads. Climate change has a big effect on the Lake Effect Snow. As you can see in Figure 3, the amount of Lake Effect Snow has increased since 1930 and it is still ongoing. The reasoning behind it is that the water temperature has also increased for the past years. There are some other factors that may have an affect on the increase in the temperature of the water. For example, in small cities the surrounding air is warmer and when it passes urban areas it gets warmer. In addition, particles that are emitted from industries and cars can also make it possible for the snow storms to grow(“Lake Effect Snow”, n.d.).
Figure 3. Increase of Lake-Effect Snow Global warming is also a climate change that is caused by human activities such as fossil fuels, or deforestation. When the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide increase, then the temperature also