Lansing, Mich. — Residents of the Great Lakes region are bracing for snow Thank youAs a weather system Rain continues to fall across the region, especially in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The snowfall that started on Wednesday continued on Thursday with northerly and northwesterly winds and bands of snow. A blizzard warning is in effect for Alger County, east of Marquette, Michigan, until 7 p.m. Thursday.
According to the National Weather Service, the heaviest snowfall is expected west of the city of Munising, with up to 13 inches of additional snow accumulation possible. As the day progresses, patches of snow are likely to taper off in the western counties of the Upper Peninsula.
Lily Chapman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Marquette, said her office measured 15 inches of snow Thursday morning. Near Bessemer, Michigan, about 113 miles east of Duluth, Minnesota, Chapman said the National Weather Service received reports of more than 18 to 28 inches of snow.
“It changes very quickly depending on things like elevation or where any of our stronger bands are able to line up,” Chapman said.
Lake effect snow Characterized by thin bands of clouds that can produce heavy snowfall. Some areas may see more snow than others nearby because of the narrow ridges.
This phenomenon occurs when cold air from Canada blows over the warm waters of the Great Lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario, and Erie. Warm air from the lakes pushes the moisture in the sky into the zone most favorable for snowfall. The resulting clouds can dump 2 to 3 inches per hour and sometimes more.
The weather especially affects Michigan, Ohio, and New York, but other large bodies of water, such as Utah’s Great Salt Lake, can also experience lake effect snow.
About 10 miles west of Bessemer near Montreal, Wisconsin, the National Weather Service reported 33 inches of snow early Thursday morning. Roy Ekberg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Green Bay, said the area’s elevation creates a better environment for clouds to form snow.
“So you don’t just have lake effect, you’ve got terrain lift,” he said. “So that area can get some pretty interesting snowfall like this event.”
Traveling bands of lake effect snow can cause sudden and extreme whiteouts, making driving dangerous. Travel was difficult Thursday in the Upper Peninsula with low visibility, Chapman said.
In addition, wind gusts of up to 45 mph created the risk of massive snow drifts on roads and power outages. More than 1,000 power outages were reported Thursday morning near Houghton, Michigan, about 100 miles west of Marquette, according to utility provider Upper Peninsula Power Co.
A similar power outage was reported by Consumers Energy along Lake Michigan near Holland, about 170 miles west of Detroit. The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids expected about two inches of snow Thursday with winds gusting to 45 mph along the lakeshore. The weather service warned of slick roads.
Lake effect snow is expected to lighten from west to east as Friday approaches. A separate and less severe weather system is expected to drop a few more inches of snow on the Upper Peninsula over the weekend, according to the weather service.
About 2 to 3 inches of snow fell near Buffalo, New York on Thanksgiving morning, and a lake effect snow warning was in effect until early Saturday morning.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without text modification.
