Early this February the states surrounding the great lakes in the northeast were pounded by lake-effect snow storms. Some areas saw more than four feet of snow. These states are accustomed to lake-effect snow storms, but it has been some time since they last saw one of this magnitude. Some areas saw up to 140 inches in less than twelve days. The storm was accountable for 35 deaths. (msn.com 2007)
States on the lee, or down wind, sides of the great lakes receive lake-effect snow every year. For some cities this can push the average snowfall up to 400 inches. During the February storm of this year records were broken for the most snowfall in one storm. For a duration of the storm snow was falling at a rate of six inches or more per hour. Some of the images captured from the event leave some in disbelief that such a thing could even happen. Storms of this magnitude completely shut down all activity. Many areas do not have equipment capable of handling such mass amounts of snow, and even if they do the task is overwhelming. (weather.com 2006)
The concept of lake-effect snow is rather simple. It starts when cold arctic air from Canada moves southwest across the great lakes, which are warmer than the air. As the air moves across the lakes evaporation occurs. The moist air is cooled as it is lifted up and then turned into snow. This snow does not stop until the cold arctic winds stop drifting across the lakes. Hills and valleys on the shore of the lakes intensify the amount of snow an area receives. The shore of the lakes as well as, any hills or valleys, cause the masses of moist air to slow down and “pile up”.
Lake-Effect snow has a range of different intensities depending upon certain factors. The difference between the air temperature and the water temperature will determine how much moisture is taken into the air. Warmer water and colder air makes for more snow. Also the distance the air has to travel across the lake will determine how much moisture the air is able to obtain. The ability of the storm to travel inland will be determined by the intensity of the storm’s winds. Storms also are able travel farther inland in late fall and early winter.
Lake-Effect snow storms typically take the form of flurries and are limited to a small areas.
Glacial Lake Peterborough had many attributing spillways attached to it, feeding meltwater and sediment from the ice margin and or other glacial lakes. Much of the sediment that was deposited in Glacial Lake Peterborough came from either from the stagnant ice blocks located on the Oak Ridges moraine or from the Lake Algonquin drainage system. Much of the deposition in this lake was dominated by sediment stratification, which may have been largely influenced by thermal stratification. As a result of thermal stratification occurring in this glacial lake sediment inputs were greatly influenced depending on the different sediment densities between the lake bottom water to that of the incoming meltwater and if the inflow density was less/more than the bottom water than the lake water bottom, than new transport and depositional paths were created
Typically impacting a small area, one location could see in excess of a foot of snow where a few miles away, could be only seeing flurries. LES (Lake Effect Snow) can come quickly and produce conditions that are very hazardous for traveling. Things like this as well as other impacts are important to note and as forecasters, try to inform the public to be prepared for an event like this. To understand the whole idea of lake effect snow, one must travel to the past where this phenomenon was first discovered and from there; move forward in time to see the progress that has been made not only in understanding this, but also forecasting it as well.
would snow up to depths of eight inches and sometimes it would rain and hail for
Some say that the only reason glaciers are melting is because of low evaporation and not hot temperatures. That is one of the reasons , but the other is because there is some mu...
“At 12:42 p.m. the air was perfectly calm for about one minute; the next minute the sky was completely overcast by heavy black clouds which, for a few minutes previous, had hung along the western and northwestern horizon, and the wind veered to the west and blew with such violence as to render the position of the observer on the roof unsafe. The air was immediately filled with snow as fine as sifted flour” (Potter). No one expected the blizzard that would soon come rolling over to create some of the unfortunate deaths. Now, the questions are what exactly happened during the storm, how are snowstorms created, and what damages it caused.
Most of the numerous inland lakes in Michigan formed as glacial kettle lakes associated with pitted outwash plains. Some of the more northern lakes in the state (like Burt and Mullet Lakes) were scoured out by glacial erosion. A few lakes along the present-day shoreline formed as hooked spits and bay mouth bars isolated estuaries along the coastline position near the ice, but farther removed from the immediate ice front. The water levels of the Great Lakes had dropped steadily. According to Etterna (2010), “The sand eroded by the glaciers has also shaped Michigan’s shorelines today. Michigan receives mainly westerly winds, causing the Lake Michigan coastline to have significant
Many Southerners don’t understand the new hazards that are brought on by extreme cold weather. Last year 8 people died due to cold weather and 29 in 2011. Some of these dangers include; chilblain, hypothermia, frostbite, trench foot, and snow blindness. Here are some suggestions that will keep you warm and safe!
Did you know that over Christmas break for Council Bluffs, Iowa they weather colder than Antarctica? It was below zero and in the negative numbers. On a few days it was negative five and negative two. It was very dangerous for people to be outside in the cold. Cars were acting up because of how cold it was and it was dangerous for people to be outside for longer than 30 minutes. My mom’s car always acts up when it’s cold outside her tire pressure drops. My brothers car was outside all night and my mom pulled it in the garage after my dad left and it didn’t want to start or go up the driveway. Walking in and out of places were very cold and it was dangerous for your skin to be showing in those weather conditions. So after me and my mom walked
Northwestern parts have colder winters due to higher elevation and experience sub-0 °F. In addition, 10-15 inches of snow fall each year in the south. Spring and autumn temperatures vary with low humidity than summer. In autumn, Atlantic City may remain warmer than the rest of the state due to the warmer sea. Spring averages in the 50’s °F in late March to 80 °F in early June. Moreover, average annual precipitation ranges from about 45 inches. Along the southeast coast, precipitation is 40 inches and in north-central parts of the state, it is 51 inches. Many areas average between 43-47 inches of precipitation. The driest setting in the state is Atlantic City, while the wettest is Morris Plains in the central part of
Glaciers have drastically changed over time because on average, “glaciers worldwide have been losing mass since at least the 1970s”. The melting of glaciers has been contributing to the rise in sea level because the glaciers have been shrinking faster in the last decade. Three of the major glaciers in the us have shown an overall drop in mass since the 1950s and 1960s and an accelerated rate of decline in recent years. An ice cap covered Mt. Hood during the Ice Age, from about 1.8 million years ago to about 10,000 years ago. These ice caps covered the Oregon Cascades, a series of mountains in Oregon, with glaciers going down on the east and west sides of the range. These glaciers melted into smaller glaciers as the weather proceeded to get warmer...
On the afternoon of April 14, the residents of the Plains States were forced to take cover as a dust storm, or "black blizzard", blew through the region. The storm hit the Oklahoma Panhandle and Northwestern Oklahoma first, and moved south for the remainder of the day. It hit Beaver around 4:00 p.m., Boise City around 5:15 p.m., and Amarillo, Texas, at 7:20 p.m. The conditions were the most severe in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles,
Wind tunnel and flight tests have shown that frost, snow, and ice accumulations (on the leading edge or upper surface of the wing) no thicker or rougher than a piece of coarse sandpaper can reduce lift by 30 percent and increase drag up to 40 percent. Larger accretions can reduce lift even more and can increase drag by 80 percent or more. (AOPA, 2002, 2).
Humidity is often a gauge of the likelihood of precipitation and this remains true for Mount Everest. Near the summit of Mount Everest, the humidity is relatively low year round and does not normally exceed 60% but the lowest values are found from April through May (mounteverest.net). This is another factor contributing to frostbite as higher humidity will affect the skin greater. Seasonal shifts in precipitation are also critical for climbers. The monsoon during the months of June to September is when a majority of snow falls and the amounts vary greatly (himalayanwonders.com). In favorable locations, as much as 100” of snow will fall in a year but only 18” falls on Base Camp (wunderground.com). Up at Camp IV, the dramatic winds sweep away a large portion of the snow but heavy snowfall poses a serious threat to getting stuck, lost, or caught in an avalanche. Human survival will rely on minimal snowfall but the presence of snow for
The foundation of the Great Lakes began around three billion years ago, which is known as the Precambrian Era. The Precambrian Era contains numerous ecological events, which consists of volcanic activity to erosion to the mountains and hills seen today being formed. Then during the Pleistocene Epoch or known as the “Ice Age, occurred between 1.6 million and 10,000 years ago. At least four times during the Pleistocene Epoch, large masses of ice advanced and retreated over the surface of what is now North America. As the glaciers advanced, giant sheets of ice flowed across the land, leveling mountains and carving out massive ...
...ve damage occurred in New England where federal disaster areas were declared for seven counties in Massachusetts, five in Maine, and one in New Hampshire. Off Staten Island, two men were drowned when their boat capsized. Other fatalities occurred when a man fishing from a bridge was either blown or swept off in New York and a fisherman was swept off the rocks at Narrangansett, RI by heavy surf. Offshore, six lives were lost when the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat, sank. Total damage in the Halloween Storm, as it came to be known because of its date, was in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”