Lake Ontario warmth now = heavy lake effect snow this winter?

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - The North Country is coming off a hot summer, often with days in the upper 80s or 90s. That hot summer heated Lake Ontario, and some may think we’re going to pay for it this winter.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration puts Lake Ontario at its second-warmest temperature ever for this time of year. It’s 5 to 7 degrees warmer than last year. Those from the North Country know that could spell lake effect snow when cold temperatures eventually move in.

“When the colder air is warmed by the warm lake water, basically we get condensation and cloud formation, and then those clouds dump a lot of snow and they fall over the land, said Jessica Spaccio, a climatologist at the Northeast Regional Climate Center.

Spaccio says the North Country conditions ar