Major Lake Effect Snow Event-Nov 16/17

[Mike Kovalchick]

The Great Lakes are off to a good start this season with the second major lake snow event occuring off all 5 lakes.

I again targeted the Gaylord area yesterday morning through last night to watch the fun. This event in Northern Michigan was a NW wind veering to the NNW then almost North wind event at the present time shifting the snowbands over a wide area. Several areas have received 1 foot amounts..with areas East of Lake Erie close to 30".

First pic shows that the NW wind created a feeder band from Lake Superior that intensified as it picked up moisture from Lake Michigan before impacting the higher hills inland. (Sometimes, this Lake Superior connection actually beings over Lake Nipogon which is NNW of Lake Superior.) Note how the band became wider inland...another common lake effect feature. Note that at the very top and on the East side of the feeder band is Beaver Island. This island creates all kinds of interesting shadow/wake effects in the horizontal roll convection that crosses the lake there. It is very common that NW/SE oriented bands will form on either side of Beaver Island with a visible/persistent precip shadow visible for dozens of miles downwind of it.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Expecting a nice Lake Michigan fetch for a significant upslope event in the central Appalachians here tonight. I foresee no sleep in my immediate future. Icy roads tonight followed by an 'after the storm' photo trip in the mountains tomorrow. Mountain counties to the east of here could see a foot!

 

[Mike Kovalchick]

Expecting a nice Lake Michigan fetch for a significant upslope event in the central Appalachians here tonight. I foresee no sleep in my immediate future. Icy roads tonight followed by an 'after the storm' photo trip in the mountains tomorrow. Mountain counties to the east of here could see a foot!

Some nice pics are available of the over 30" that fell at Snowshoe.

http://www.snowshoemtn.com/mountain/dailyPhotos.htm

Yet another storm is on the way for later tonight/tomorrow. It should start in Alger County in Michigan(where the local NWS is calling for as much as 30" to fall during the upcoming event and spread South and East towards your area.

 

[Stephen Levine]

Thank you, Mike for that awesome link to Snowshoe Mountain and those amazing pictures.
Stunning in beauty. Made for a splendid arm chair "chase" for me this evening.
It also amazes me how orthographic lifting can make such mountains out of limited vapor.
Those same lake effect vapor trails would pass overhead where I grew up in Pittsburgh and usually at best produce only up to a couple inches of powdery fluff. That would usually compress down to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch within 24 hours.

 

[Mike Kovalchick]

Thank you, Mike for that awesome link to Snowshoe Mountain and those amazing pictures.
Stunning in beauty. Made for a splendid arm chair "chase" for me this evening.
It also amazes me how orthographic lifting can make such mountains out of limited vapor.
Those same lake effect vapor trails would pass overhead where I grew up in Pittsburgh and usually at best produce only up to a couple inches of powdery fluff. That would usually compress down to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch within 24 hours.

I grew up directly in the snow shadow of Snowshoe/Alleghany Front in the Shenandoah Valley. We would be lucky to get a few flurries after Snowshoe got done sucking us dry!

I have considered getting a vacation home there as it is one of the stormiest locations in the Eastern U.S. that you can actually buy a home.

One part of WV that I find even more interesting is the "Roaring Plains" area:

http://www.wvhighlands.org/roaring-plains/jjessup-plains-snow-in-spring.htm

So named as the wind sounds like a jet engine as it blasts through the trees at the highest plateau on the Alleghany Front.
(That area has a wind force scale of 7..I can just imagine some of the blizzards that remote area receives! http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/images/windmaps/wv_50m_800.jpg )

FYI...5"/hour snow rates are possible in a couple of counties of SW Michigan from thunder snowbands this evening as a result a VERY long fetch coming down the entire length of Lake Michigan with a Lake Superior connection with clouds tops pushing 20,000 feet. I suspect they will make it to WV at some point.