FORECASTING LAKE-EFFECT
Lake-effect snowstorms are difficult to observe and forecast for the following reasons:
They are shallow systems (depth often < 3 km); and the lowest elevation radar scans overshoot the tops.
The onset, intensity, orientation, and exact location are very sensitive to wind shear/direction and thermal stratification in the lower troposphere.
Lake-effect difficult to distinguish from orographic influences in some locations (e.g., Gt. Salt Lake)
Conventional rawindsondes measure profiles at times and locations which are not optimum for monitoring the atmosphere over the lakes.
Operational models do not have sufficient resolution to resolve the scales of lake-effect snowbands.