LAKE-EFFECT SNOW
Overview of the Lake-Effect Process
Lake-Effect-type Phenomena in Other Regions
Lake-Effect vs. Lake-Enhanced
LAKE-EFFECT
Notable Snowfall Statistics
Conceptual Model of Lake-Effect
Formation Regions
Ingredients Determining Lake-Effect Characteristics
Instability
from Reinking et al. (1993)
Fetch
Favorable Fetches for Lake-Effect Snow
Wind Shear
Upstream Moisture
Upstream Lakes
Simulation of the Effects of Upwind Lakes--NW Flow
Simulation of the Effects of Upwind Lakes--West Flow Case
Synoptic-Scale Forcing
Favorable Synoptic Setting
Orography/Topography
Snow/Ice Cover on the Great Lakes
Types of Lake-Effect Snowbands
Single Band Development
Intense single snowbands exhibit strong confluence in the lower part of the mixed layer and diffluence near the top of the mixed layer.
Single Bands (cont.)
Multiple Snowbands (1-20 km wide)
Multiple-Lake Bands
Satellite Applications
Water Vapor Imagery
VIS and IR Imagery
3.9 micron imagery
Reflected Energy Product
IR Cloud Top Temperatures
Distinguishing Snow Cover
Distinguishing Ice Clouds
Distinguishing Open Water
Distinguishing Liquid Water Clouds
Storm-scale Structure (Integrated data sources)
Storm-scale Structure (cont.)
IR satellite cloud top temperatures may be correlated with radar reflectivities and surface obs to infer snowfall intensity. The IR data is especially helpful over regions lacking adequate radar coverage.
FORECASTING LAKE-EFFECT
Lake-Effect Decision Tree from Niziol (1987)
Use of Numerical Models
Higher Resolution Mesoscale Models
10-km Penn State/NCAR (MM5) Model Forecast Comparison with Radar 18-hr fcst VT 18 UTC BGM radar 18 UTC
Integrated Sensor Approach
BUFKIT AUTOMATED GUIDANCE PACKAGE
Concluding Remarks
References
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