Weather & Science
Lake Erie’s Warmth Fuels Buffalo’s Potential Record Snow
- Lake Erie temperature running above normal, fueling snow storm
- Warm water and cold temperatures fuel so-called “lake effect”
A fishing boat on Lake Erie.
Photographer: James MacDonald/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A warm Lake Erie is partly to blame for the historic snow dump set to pummel the Buffalo area, and could even spark a few thunderstorms as the flakes start to fall.
Temperatures in the Great Lake are hovering near 52 degrees Fahrenheit (11 Celsius), surpassing the average for this time of year and just shy of the record 54 degrees in mid-November, said Liz Jurkowski, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Buffalo.