Updated Nov. 7, 2019 8:39 AM
Until recently, it's been a relatively warm but wet autumn across the Great Lakes so far. However, it looks as though Mother Nature wants to quickly turn the page right into winter. Persistent shots of cold Canadian air into next week will trigger several more rounds of lake-effect snow.
As cold air pours over the relatively warm Great Lakes, a perfect recipe for accumulating snow is in store across the typical lake-effect snow belts.
The first shot of cold air will follow a storm system sliding through the Northeast Thursday into Friday, and it will set off a brief round of lake-effect snow. Another reinforcing shot of punishing cold air early next week will likely bring the most significant lake-effect snow event of the season so far across the Great Lakes.
This first shot of lake-effect snow will be relatively short-lived with most not receiving more than a few inches of fresh snow. Parts of northern Michigan will be an exception, where the snow bands will be longer lived.
"Some residents in the upper peninsula of Michigan could receive a foot of new snow into Thursday night," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz.
Heavier snow squalls bringing quickly accumulating snow and visibility quickly dropping to near-zero will create some travel headaches across the Great Lakes for a time into Friday morning.
A strong area of high pressure will quickly build in by later Friday, effectively squashing the lake-effect snow machine for a couple of days.
Another quick-hitting system will move across the region Saturday into Sunday, bringing a generally light snowfall to the Great Lakes.
Perhaps more importantly, this quick-moving system will usher in another push of Arctic air.
As this Arctic air presses across the region early next week, a more extended period of lake-effect snow will ensue, and snow will begin to pile up again across the snow belts.
"The winds appear to be a little more northerly with this second wave of lake-effect snow," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Max Gawryla.
The locations typically favored to get snow during northwest winds may miss out on the heaviest snow, while locations like the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, northern Indian and northeastern Ohio will be bracing for snow.
By the middle of next week, some double-digit totals solely from lake-effect snow are possible where the most persistent bands set up.
The exact orientation of the snow bands, and therefore the specifics of exactly where the heaviest snow will fall early next week, are not yet set in stone.
"Subtle changes in the wind direction at various levels of the atmosphere, dictated by the positioning of high and low pressure areas surrounding the Great Lakes, play a significant role in determining where the heaviest snow hits," Brian Wimer, AccuWeather winter weather expert, said.
"Many times, these specifics are difficult to pin down more than a few days out," Wimer added.
Regardless, hazardous travel weather is expected to plague the Great Lakes over the next several days.
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One of the greatest dangers with lake-effect snow is how quickly conditions can change over the course of a few minutes or a few miles.
Motorists throughout the region will have to plan for the possibility of near-whiteout conditions, snow-covered roads and gusty winds over the course of their routes.
Gusty winds can blow snow back onto roadways and create pockets of poor visibility in open areas even where snowfall has ended.
Swaths of Interstates 79, 80, 81, 86 and 90, just to name a few, along with many state and local routes could be difficult to downright dangerous at times, especially early next week.
Road crews from Marquette, Michigan, to Syracuse, New York, will have their work cut out for them through at least the middle of next week.
It is common in November to get significant accumulations from lake-effect events downwind of the Great Lakes.
The lakes are still very warm compared to the winterlike air that will pour into the region, and this results in an extremely unstable environment. In the most extreme cases, thundersnow can occur within lake-effect snow bands.
Download the free AccuWeather app to see the latest forecast for your area. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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