Not to burst the thundersnow bubble, but despite the lake effect bands being very intense as far as snow goes, their vertical depth was a little too shallow. There was some good glaciation with the bands, and some of the tops were getting down into the -35C range, but most of that was over land unfortunately.
The lightning maps were pretty bland, but there was the odd CG detected over the lake.
Fortunately as far as the wind was concerned, under the lake effect bands themselves the wind was either very light or just about nonexistent. Towards the edges of the bands the winds were quite strong and blustery creating blizzard like conditions.
In the multibanded squalls the situation was very different, the snow rates were not really that high but the cellular structure allowed the snow waves to drifted away from the cloud bases and the interaction between the mesoscale and synoptic environment created near continuous true blizzard conditions in some areas.
The key equipment for chasing such snow squalls is:
1) Windproof/water proof clothing
2) Snow shovels, ice melting gear (propane torch is great), chains, tow rope, several bottles of washer fluid and two 10 or 15 gallon containers filled with fuel. Also bring 3 or 4 lighters.
3) Food, candles for warmth, box cutters, and tool box with tools
4) GPS (you need to know you exact location if stuck) and high quality street mapping software either for the GPS or the laptop + paper maps!!!
*** GET A LIST OF NEARBY HOTELS, GAS STATIONS AND FOOD***
5) Cell phone with charger!!! <- most important I would argue!
That is all you really need! The worst thing you can do is drive into a ditch in the 0 visibility and get stuck! If you do this and cannot get out, call 911 and let them know. Just about every emergency department will accept GPS coordinates. You will probably have to wait until conditions improve or plows are allowed back on the roads before you can get a tow or ride.
Do not leave your vehicle unless you are no more than a 5 minute walk from shelter (gas station, etc).
Also be aware of road closures, if the road is closed you are not getting help!!! That is certain! You could also be fined in most cases for disobeying local authorities if caught.
This type of stuff is usually a common scene in bad squalls! Pick roads which are generally straight with no bends, put one wheel on the shoulder if you have to and use it as a guide to separate pavement from the ditch.
If visibility drops to 0, drive straight, let your foot off the gas and do not brake. Avoid sudden wheel motions and watch for oncoming headlights. Keep the wheel straight!
When on busy routes, stay in the center lane. The traffic will usually occur in groups or blocks of vehicles. Stay away from these blocks at all cost! If you find yourself with a block of vehicles speed up and get out in front leaving a fair distance between yourself and the lead vehicle(s) or slow down and let the group pass you. This greatly reduces the chance of someone spinning out and hitting you, this also reduces the risk that you will be involved in a pileup.
Phone home often and give precise details.
BTW, the two images above were from some squalls in December of 04. The winds were about 50 - 55 mph, the temp was -8F (wind chill was near -40) and snow rates were peaking at around 4 inches per hour. The whiteouts were not the problem! I hit a deer on the way home and that kept me back 3 hours until I could get a tow out of the ditch and drive home (with no driver side headlight). My main concern was the temp and nightfall. Driving in 0 vis during the day is easy, doing that at night is a bad idea.
Another ENG news cameraman I know was chasing during similar conditions at night in 2005 and he found himself 4 miles down a snowmobile trail which he thought was still part of the highway! He called me on the phone and asked me to check the map. He encountered a snowmobiler on the trail who confirmed his fears LOL. Funny now, but I would hate to have to turn around on a snowmobile trail with a huge pickup truck!
ANOTHER key point to keep in mind is wet snow and signs! When I was chasing the October 12th storm effecting Buffalo and Ft.Erie, the big problem I ran into was that all the road signs were covered. I encountered many people going the wrong way on the highway and secondary streets. At times I was worried I may have been going the wrong direction but when I brushed off some signs I was relieved. The GPS never lied about what side of the road I was on fortunately! Some guy almost hit me going the wrong way on a one way exit ramp.
Chasing squalls can be really dangerous so be careful!
Warning from the squall event this weekend below--------------------
ENVIRONMENT CANADA HAS UPDATED A SEVERE WEATHER BULLETIN FOR
SOUTHERN ONTARIO AT 11:29 PM EST SUNDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2007.
A BLIZZARD WARNING IS CONTINUED FOR
SAUGEEN SHORES - KINCARDINE - SOUTHERN BRUCE COUNTY
BRUCE PENINSULA - SAUBLE BEACH - TOBERMORY
HANOVER - DUNDALK - SOUTHERN GREY COUNTY AND
OWEN SOUND - BLUE MOUNTAINS - NORTHERN GREY COUNTY.
LOCAL BLIZZARD CONDITIONS TONIGHT ESPECIALLY NEAR THE LAKE HURON SHORELINE AND OVER HIGHER GROUND.
THIS IS A WARNING THAT BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING IN THESE REGIONS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS..LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS.
A SNOWSQUALL WARNING IS CONTINUED FOR
....
A WIND CHILL WARNING IS CONTINUED FOR
....
WIND CHILL VALUES OF MINUS 30 EXPECTED ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO TONIGHT AND VALUES NEAR MINUS 40 OVER PORTIONS OF EASTERN ONTARIO TONIGHT.
THIS IS A WARNING THAT EXTREME WIND CHILL CONDITIONS ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING IN THESE REGIONS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS..LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS.
A WIND WARNING IS CONTINUED FOR
PICTON - SANDBANKS PARK.
LOCAL WHITEOUT CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY OVER PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO SQUALLS AND HIGH WINDS.
THIS IS A WARNING THAT DAMAGING WINDS ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING IN THESE REGIONS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS..LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
==DISCUSSION==
EXTREMELY COLD ARCTIC AIR HAS FLOODED OVER THE GREAT LAKES BASIN.
A SNOW SQUALL OVER LAKE ONTARIO IS GRAZING PICTON - SANDBANKS PARK. FURTHER AMOUNTS OF UP TO 10 CENTIMETRES CAN BE EXPECTED TONIGHT BEFORE THE SQUALL DRIFTS SOUTHWARD. WINDS AS HIGH AS 70 GUSTING TO 90 KM/H ACCOMPANY THE SQUALLS GIVING WHITEOUT CONDITIONS AND NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS.
THE WEST TO NORTHWESTERLY FLOW OFF LAKE HURON AND GEORGIAN BAY IS GENERATING NUMEROUS SNOWSQUALLS AFFECTING AREAS TO THE EAST OF GEORGIAN BAY AND LAKE HURON. THERE ARE TWO MAIN SNOWSQUALLS. ONE IS AFFECTING THE AREAS FROM WIARTON TO JUST NORTH OF WASAGA BEACH TO JUST WEST OF LINDSAY WITH LOCAL SNOWFALL RATES NEAR 5 CENTIMETRES PER HOUR LIKELY. THIS SQUALL IS BEGINNING TO SHIFT AND REORGANIZE ITSELF AS THE FLOW BEGINS TO SHIFT MORE NORTHWESTERLY. THE SECOND SNOWSQUALL IS COMING ONSHORE NEAR GODERICH WITH SNOWFALL RATES IN THE 2 TO 5 CENTIMETRES PER HOUR RANGE.
SNOW SQUALLS ARE EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY OVERNIGHT WITH SNOWFALL RATES INCREASING INTO THE 5 TO 10 CENTIMETRES PER HOUR RANGE. THE MAIN SNOW SQUALL WILL CONTINUE TO DRIFT SOUTHWARD TO AFFECT THE BARRIE AREA OVERNIGHT. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS IN THE 20 TO 40 CENTIMETRES RANGE CAN BE EXPECTED TONIGHT IN SOME LOCALITIES ALONG WITH BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AS THE MERCURY DROPS. STRONG WESTERLY WINDS AND VERY COLD TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO GIVE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS NEAR THE HEAVIEST SQUALLS AND ESPECIALLY IN THE ONSHORE FLOW OFF LAKE HURON.
EXTREME CAUTION IS ADVISED AS TRAVEL WILL BE VERY HAZARDOUS IN THE WARNED AREAS DUE TO LOCAL WHITEOUT AND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS IN FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW. ADDITIONAL BLIZZARD WARNINGS MAY BE ISSUED LATER TONIGHT OVER SOME LOCALITIES AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.
INCREASINGLY COLD AIR CONTINUES TO FLOOD ACROSS SOUTHERN AND EASTERN ONTARIO. LOW TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH WESTERLY WINDS GUSTING TO 50 OR 60 KM/H WILL CAUSE WIND CHILL VALUES TO DROP TO NEAR MINUS 30 TONIGHT OVER ALL OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO. WIND CHILLS VALUES IN THE MINUS NEAR MINUS 40 CAN BE EXPECTED OVER MUCH OF EASTERN ONTARIO TONIGHT.
ENVIRONMENT CANADA WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS EXTREME WEATHER EVENT CLOSELY.
PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST PUBLIC FORECASTS FOR FURTHER DETAILS.
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