Did You Know Lake Effect Snow Could Happen On Minnesota Inland Lakes?
When we hear about lake effect snow, we are always talking about Lake Superior. That's where we got a ton of lake-effect snow on the North Shore. Some places got 29 inches! That's because of the direction of the wind and the warm water interacting with the colder-than-average air temperatures we have seen this week.
Now it's the south shore of Lake Superior that's going to get hit with the snow in places like Iron and Gogebic County. They are used to a lot of snow in that area as well.
But here's where it gets interesting. We were talking with WDIO AMS Certified Meteorologist Brandon Weatherz about today's forecast and he mentioned that we could see lake-effect snow on inland lakes. I've never heard of that before. So I pressed Brandon to give us more information.
Inland lakes can create lake-effect snow in November when the lake temperatures are still warm. Usually, the lakes aren't big enough to create energy in the atmosphere, but when the water is still warm, and the temperatures are seasonably colder it can happen.
Big lakes, especially Mille Lacs, Red, and Lake of The Woods are more likely to see this happen. But according to Brandon, it could still happen on smaller lakes too, if the conditions are just right.
The abrupt change in weather has also contributed to lakes having warmer-than-average temperatures this time of year. Temperatures went from the 50s and 60s at the beginning of November, to single digits in some places.