An Investigation of Cold-Season Short-Wave Troughs in the Great Lakes Region and Their Concurrence with Lake-Effect Clouds

Metz, Nicholas D.; Bruick, Zachary S.; Capute, Peyton K.; Neureuter, Molly M.; Ott, Emily W.; Sessa, M.

doi:10.1175/jamc-d-18-0177.1

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Upper atmospheric disturbances and clippers were the second most frequent storms, both occurring 233 times during the study period. Both of these storm types are often associated with the conditions necessary for the formation of lake‐effect snow including the advection of cold air over the Great Lakes, west‐northwest winds over Central New York, and a substantial fetch across Lake Ontario (Thomas and Martin, 2007; Metz et al ., 2019). Therefore, clippers and upper atmospheric disturbances may often prelude lake‐effect snowstorms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A classification scheme for identifying snowstorms affecting central New York State

Hartnett

2020

Intl Journal of Climatology

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The Great Lakes region experiences anomalously high seasonal snowfall totals relative to similar latitudes. Although lake‐effect snowstorms are common in this region, snowfall occurs from a variety of storm types. This study examines snowstorms in a subsection of the Lake Ontario basin to develop a classification scheme to categorize the different types of snowstorms affecting the region. From 1985 to 2015, there were 11 different snowstorm types to affect the study area. The classification system was used to assess the frequency of, and snowfall produced by the different storm types within the eastern Great Lakes region. From the classification, snowstorms were categorized as either non‐direct cyclonic storms (NDCS) or direct cyclonic storms (DCS). Lake‐effect snowstorms, a type of NDCS, were the most frequent storm (35.1% of all storms) and accounted for approximately 39.4% of the snowfall. Most lake‐effect storms (37.7%) produced moderate snowfall totals (10.2–25.3 cm), yet heavy snowfall storms (≥25.4 cm) contributed significantly (ρ ≤ .05) more to seasonal snowfall totals than lighter snowfall storms. Direct cyclonic clippers forming over high latitudes of northwestern Canada, were the most frequent DCS in Central New York (11.3% of all storms), with nearly three quarters of the storms originating over Alberta. These storms only contributed 9.2% of the seasonal snowfall in the study area, compared to 12.7% from direct cyclonic Nor'easters forming near the east coast of North America. Although Nor'easters occur less frequently than clippers, when they do occur, they tend to produce heavy widespread snowfall across the region. The classification system proposed can be modified to accommodate snow basins across the globe. Classifying snowstorms will help determine the seasonal snowfall contribution from different storms and aid in future climate predictions, as individual snowstorm types may respond differently to a warming global climate.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A classification scheme for identifying snowstorms affecting central New York State

Hartnett

2020

Intl Journal of Climatology

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“…6c). These surface features occur within quasi-zonal flow at 500-hPa across North America with a short-wave trough (e.g., Metz et al 2019) over the Intermountain West and shortwave ridge over the Great Lakes Region (Fig. 6d).…”

Section: Results: Band Morphology and Classification A Elcp Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Climatology of Easterly Wind Lake-Effect and Lake-Enhanced Precipitation Events over the Western Lake Superior Region

Sandstrom

Cordeira

Hoffman

et al. 2023

Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

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Lake-effect precipitation is convective precipitation produced by relatively cold air passing over large and relatively warm bodies of water. This phenomenon most often occurs in North America over the southern and eastern shores of the Great Lakes, where high annual snowfalls and high-impact snowstorms frequently occur under prevailing west and northwest flow. Locally higher snow or rainfall amounts also occur due to lake-enhanced synoptic precipitation when conditionally unstable or neutrally stratified air is present in the lower troposphere. While likely less common, lake-effect and lake-enhanced precipitation can also occur with easterly winds, impacting the western shores of the Great Lakes. This study describes a 15-year climatology of easterly lake-effect (ELEfP) and lake-enhanced (ELEnP) precipitation (conjointly Easterly Lake Collective Precipitation: ELCP) events that developed in east-to-east-northeasterly flow over western Lake Superior from 2003 to 2018. ELCP occurs infrequently but often enough to have a notable climatological impact over western Lake Superior with an average of 14.6 events per year. The morphology favors both single shore-parallel ELEfP bands due to the convex western shoreline of Lake Superior and mixed-type banding due to ELEnP events occurring in association with “overrunning” synoptic-scale precipitation. ELEfP often occurs in association with a surface anticyclone to the north of Lake Superior. ELEnP typically features a similar northerly-displaced anticyclone and a surface cyclone located over the U.S. Upper Midwest that favor easterly boundary-layer winds over western Lake Superior.

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“…As Wright et al (2013) suggest, frozen lakes and cooler lake surface temperatures will shrink the snow bands and confine them closer to the lake shore, which ultimately diminishes lake-effect contributions further from the lake. Furthermore, the location of snow bands is influenced by the presence of upper-tropospheric short-wave troughs (Metz et al, 2019). Metz et al (2019) found that lake-effect bands concurrent with short-wave troughs were most common during the peak season (December-January), which may displace snow bands directly east or northeast of the long-axis of the lake.…”

Section: Snowfall Contributions From Lake-effect Snowmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the location of snow bands is influenced by the presence of upper-tropospheric short-wave troughs (Metz et al, 2019). Metz et al (2019) found that lake-effect bands concurrent with short-wave troughs were most common during the peak season (December-January), which may displace snow bands directly east or northeast of the long-axis of the lake.…”

Section: Snowfall Contributions From Lake-effect Snowmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Seasonal Snowfall Contributions of Different Snowstorm Types in Central New York State

Hartnett

2021

Front. Water

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Located at the eastern extent of the Great Lakes snowbelt, Central New York averages some of the highest annual snowfall totals east of the Rocky Mountains. This is in large part due to the variety of snowstorms that affect the region including lake-effect storms, coastal storms, and overrunning storms. Previous estimates suggest that lake-effect snowstorms account for approximately half of the seasonal snow in the Great Lakes basin, but ignore the spatial variability that exists within the region. Therefore, this study examines the seasonal snowfall contributions of the different snowstorm types to affect Central New York. Results suggest that although lake-effect snowstorms are the dominant snowstorm type in the region, their seasonal snowfall contributions vary between 13 and 48%. Although lake-effect snowstorms produce more snow during the peak and mid-seasons, their relative contribution is greatest during the early and mid-winter seasons. Generally, higher contributions occur near the Tug Hill Plateau, with lower contributions in southern Central New York. Instead, snowfall in southern Central New York is mostly dominated by Nor'easters (16–35%), with lesser contributions from Rocky lows (14–29%). Overrunning storms that originate in Canada (e.g., Alberta clippers) and non-cyclonic storms contribute the least to seasonal snowfall totals across Central New York; however, they are often the catalyst for lake-effect snowstorms in the region, as they advect continental polar air masses that destabilize across the lake. Understanding the actual snowfall contribution from different snowstorm types is needed for future climate predictions. Since the potential trajectory of future snowfall varies according to the type of storm, climate models must accurately predict the type of storm that is producing the snow.

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An Investigation of Cold-Season Short-Wave Troughs in the Great Lakes Region and Their Concurrence with Lake-Effect Clouds

Cited by 7 publications

References 28 publications

A classification scheme for identifying snowstorms affecting central New York State

A classification scheme for identifying snowstorms affecting central New York State

A Climatology of Easterly Wind Lake-Effect and Lake-Enhanced Precipitation Events over the Western Lake Superior Region

The Seasonal Snowfall Contributions of Different Snowstorm Types in Central New York State

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