Lake Effect Snow Storms

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Cold air masses crossing relatively warm lake waters account for many important features of winter weather in the Great Lakes Region. In addition, local snow storms, called lake-effect storms, form in the vicinity of the downwind shores and inundate lake shore communities with heavy snow. The structure of these storms as well as the effects the Great Lakes have on large weather systems is an important topic both scientifically and practically. Under National Science Foundation sponsorship a field program was held near Lake Michigan during the winter of 1983-84. Data from aircraft, surface stations, satellites, upper-air soundings and radar were successfully collected on a number of well- organized lake-snow events. The Principal Investigator will continue analysis of this rich data set. Two primary goals are to develop a three-dimensional model of the low level flow atmospheric flow structure that is responsible for the locally heavy snows and to provide a quantitative model of the details of the cloud and snow processed within these storms. //