Northeast Ohio is one of the few places on EARTH that receives significant Lake effect snow.

If you have lived in NEO or Greater Cleveland for some time, you are likely familiar with lake effect snow, but do you know WHY it actually happens?

There are three main factors meteorologists look for in order to achieve the phenomenon of lake effect snow.

A large area of open water of at least 100 km known as a "fetch"

Water temperatures that are warmer than the air moving over it. As a rule, the difference must be 13 degrees Celsius (or colder) between the water temperature and the air temperature around 5,000 feet above the water

Wind directions will dictate the location of the snowfall, as well as its intensity, and wind speeds need to be between 10 to 45 mph to have enough moisture to cr

See Full Page