1st taste of winter to blast areas near the Great Lakes

By Jake Sojda, AccuWeather meteorologist

Updated Oct. 30, 2019 5:22 PM

Following a powerful winter storm, bringing soaking rain, snow and strong winds to much of the East during the last half of the week, the lake-effect machine will make a brief appearance in the Great Lakes this weekend as cold winds blast across the region.

This reinforcing shot of cold and wind will be ushered into the Great Lakes beginning Friday night as a storm system tracks through Canada. It will unleash the coldest air of the season so far for many areas.

As this colder air travels across the relatively warm water of the lakes, it will pick up moisture, generating precipitation downwind of the lakes. Away from the immediate lakeshore, most of the precipitation will fall as snow.

This early in the season, while the lake waters are still relatively warm, waterspouts are also likely to spin up as the cold air and strong winds move across the lakes.

If any waterspouts approach the coast, they could cause some isolated damage along the lakeshore. The southern Great Lakes, where waters are the warmest, will see the greatest threat for waterspouts.

Lake-effect snow will affect western areas of the Great Lakes mainly during Saturday and Saturday night, while snow will develop in the eastern Great Lakes Saturday night into Sunday.

The relatively warm lake waters will cause precipitation to come down as rain or a mix of rain and snow at the immediate lakeshore initially. As the cold air deepens, even lakeshore communities will see a change over to all snow for a period during the event, especially during the overnight and early morning hours.

"While significant snowfall is not expected for most across the Great Lakes this weekend, many will get their first taste of this winter phenomenon Saturday and Sunday," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo.

Most locales in the belts typically favored for lake-effect snow won't get much more than a slushy coating to an inch or two, with major thoroughfares staying mainly wet. Secondary roads and untreated surfaces could become slushy for a time.

"It will be a short-lived episode of lake-effect snow this weekend, but anytime you're dealing with lake-effect snow, there can be heavier squalls that can significantly reduce visibility and coat roads," Brett Rossio, AccuWeather meteorologist, said.

"Motorists across the Great Lakes this weekend should be prepared for the likelihood of rapidly changing conditions," Rossio said.

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Some spots in the higher terrain of northern Michigan and upstate New York will be buried by locally higher amounts.

Areas of higher terrain east of Traverse City, Michigan, south of Buffalo, New York, as well as the Tug Hill Plateau, north of Syracuse, New York, will have the best chance to receive as much as 6 inches of wet snow from Saturday into Sunday morning.

Residents throughout the region may have to allow for some extra time to brush snow off their cars.

A raw breeze will also accompany this dose of cold air across the Great Lakes this weekend. Winds will gust at 20-30 mph for much of the time this weekend after locally damaging winds whip across some parts of the region during the late-week storm.

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AccuWeather Chief Broadcast Meteorologist Bernie Rayno has the forecast for a strong storm system that will arrive in the Northeast on Halloween and possibly trigger a "widespread, damaging wind event."

AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will top out only in the 20s and 30s F on both days this weekend in the Great Lakes. RealFeel Temperatures during the overnight hours will fall into the 20s near the warmer lakeshore communities, with teens and even the single digits farther inland.

Those attending sporting events or other outdoor activities this weekend will need to bundle up to stay warm. By later in the weekend, a chilly breeze will even extend to the Northeast coast, affecting events such as the New York Marathon.

"A few layers of warm clothing may be needed by those spending extended periods outdoors to stave off the cold, penetrating wind," Rossio stated.

After a relatively mild autumn so far, this will be just the beginning of a colder stretch for the Great Lakes. Numerous storm systems sliding from west to east across southern Canada and the Great Lakes will continue to bring reinforcing bouts of cold air into mid-November.

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