Over 12 million people across portions of at least 13 states were under winter weather alerts Wednesday, the second straight day of heavy snow has targeted the central and eastern U.S.
The Great Lakes and Northeast bore the brunt of nasty winter weather as lake-effect snow piled up near the shores of Lake Superior, Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, and Lake Ontario. Winter storm warnings stretched from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to western New York.
Arctic air sweeping over the relatively warmer waters of the Great Lakes was squeezing out staggering amounts of snow downwind. CBS News reported that over 24 inches of snow fell Tuesday, marking the city's second-highest one-day total on record. Some other impressive 24-hour snowfall reports from Tuesday and Wednesday include 17.9 inches in Point Rock, New York, 17 in St. Ignace, Michigan, and 10 in Evergreen, Wisconsin.
This lake-effect snow event is expected to spill over into the new year. Winter storm warnings remain in effect for western New York until 7 a.m. Saturday, with an additional 1 to 3 feet of snow expected.
"Travel will be very difficult with deep snow cover on roads and very poor visibility," cautioned meteorologists with the Buffalo National Weather Service office. "Widespread accumulating snow will create dangerous travel conditions."
Snowfall rates are expected to reach three inches per hour at times east of Lake Ontario through Wednesday evening in some of the heavier bands of lake-effect snow.
"Arctic air behind a departing intense cyclone will continue to surge into much of the eastern two-thirds of the country today," according to forecasters with the Weather Prediction Center. "In the process, the lake-effect 'snow machine' will remain active downwind from the Great Lakes and will be reinforced with the arrival of an Alberta Clipper today."
Alberta Clippers are quick-moving, intense low-pressure systems that develop near Alberta, Canada, and then sweep rapidly eastward and southeastward across the northern tier of the U.S., impacting the northern plains, Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast. This winter's jet stream pattern has sent frequent Arctic blasts into the central and eastern U.S., bringing heavy snow and bitter cold to states in these regions.
These bouts of nasty winter weather have taken their toll, with several cities from Iowa and Illinois eastward to Virginia and northward through New England experiencing a challenging season. The Midwest Regional Climate Center uses its Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index to track just how tough or easy winter is going across the country.
The five AWSSI categories, from least miserable to most miserable, are mild, moderate, average, severe, and extreme. Syracuse is experiencing an "extreme" season so far, according to its AWSSI. Other cities enduring extreme winters so far include Albany, New York; Bangor, Maine; Springfield, Illinois; Charleston, West Virginia; and Blacksburg, Virginia.
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Clearing snow from my driveway 🌨️ Our overheating planet is resulting in warmer lakes and declining ice cover in the Great Lakes. The warmer lakes lead to less ice, which means more open water and more water vapor available for the lake-effect snow machine to squeeze out greater amounts of snow.
"In fact, the Great Lakes are among the fastest-warming lakes in the world," researchers said with the nonprofit Climate Central. "Despite lake-to-lake and year-to-year variability, long-term records generally show that summer surface waters are warming — especially in the upper Great Lakes: Superior, Michigan, and Huron."
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