Lake effect snow is common across the Great Lakes region during the late fall and winter.

Lake effect snow occurs when cold air, often originating from Canada, moves across the unfrozen and relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes. Water holds on to heat more than air. As a result, when the below freezing air passes over the lake’s warmer waters some lake water evaporates into the air and warms it, making the air less dense than the overriding cold air. This warmer, wetter air rises and cools as it moves away from the lake. If the wind and temperatures are right, the air acts like a big sponge, sopping up water from the lake and when it cools, wrings out the “sponge” on land, dumping that moisture on the ground. When it is cold enough, that moisture falls as snow, explains the National W

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