By AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Jan. 7, 2022 10:23 AM MST | Updated Jan. 8, 2022 4:54 AM MST
It seems that Mother Nature has finally found the switch to turn on the lake-effect snow machine.
Intense lake-effect snow bands pummeled Buffalo and surrounding areas of western New York on Thursday, producing record-breaking snowfall and creating whiteout conditions on the roadways in areas that have been in the midst of a snow drought so far this winter.
A whopping 17.9 inches of snow fell in Buffalo on Thursday, with nearly 10 inches piling up by 10 a.m. EST. Previously, the highest daily snowfall for Jan. 6 was 7.3 inches from 1974. Jan. 6, 2022, is now also the second snowiest day for the month, according to the National Weather Service. The city just narrowly missed the monthly record of 18.3 inches which fell on Jan. 11, 1982.
Visibility at Buffalo's airport was reduced to one-quarter of a mile or less for four straight hours Thursday morning as the snow came down at a fast and furious pace, upwards of 2 inches per hour at times. Wind gusts around 30 mph further reduced visibility on the roadways and contributed to areas of blowing and drifting snow.
A look at the radar on Thursday morning, Jan. 6, as an intense lake-effect snow band was pummeling Buffalo, New York. (AccuWeather)
Heather Ly, an anchor for WGRZ, shared a video on Twitter of a snowplow and cars driving down a snow-covered part of Interstate 90 in Buffalo, with the snow making it extremely difficult to see the tail lights of the vehicles ahead.
As is the norm with lake-effect snow, the highest snowfall accumulations occurred in a narrow corridor that was located within the most persistent snow bands. A couple of dozen miles to the north and south of Buffalo, a mere 3-4 inches of snow were reported.
Cold air and brisk winds off the Great Lakes promoted the persistent snow bands that produced highly localized but hefty snowfall amounts, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Joe Bauer.
Cold air flowing over unfrozen, warmer lake waters is the main driver for lake-effect snow to get underway. But one key ingredient has been lacking thus far -- persistent cold air -- and that has contributed to a snow drought for many areas downwind of the lakes.
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This week's snowfall has certainly helped to eat into some of the snow deficits.
Prior to Thursday's winter reality check, Buffalo had received only a mere 36% of normal snowfall from Nov. 1, 2021, to Jan. 5, 2022, with 13.6 inches recorded compared to an average for the time period of 37.7 inches. Now, the city's snow tally stands at 31.5 inches, or 81% of average since Nov. 1.
Marquette, Michigan, was another area that was hit with heavy lake-effect snow this week, picking up 15.4 inches on Wednesday and tacking on another 8.8 inches on Thursday. Wednesday's snow easily smashed the city's previous daily record of 5.3 inches, set in 2010, while Thursday's snow fell just short of that date's record of 8.9 inches from 1976. Marquette is now running a snow surplus since Nov. 1, recording 89.5 inches compared to an average of 72.2.
Farther south in New Buffalo, a city on the southwestern tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, roaring winds and snow combined to create whiteout conditions on the roadways at midweek.
For areas that missed out on the narrow and heavy snow bands this week, a significant snow deficit continues. Erie, Pennsylvania, for example, has recorded only 7.6 inches since Nov. 1, 18.0% of the average for the time period of 42.4 inches.
Flurries and locally heavier snow showers will continue to stream off the Great Lakes and create slippery travel conditions on Saturday, before the winds shift ahead of another approaching storm, according to Bauer.
The next blast of Arctic air is set to flow over the Great Lakes this weekend and is expected to trigger another round of lake-effect snow and slippery travel conditions by early next week. This new wave of cold air will be preceded by a period of ice in many locations.
Until the Great Lakes freeze over enough, shots of cold air over the coming weeks are likely to continue to set off the lake-effect snow machine on a regular basis. As of Jan. 6, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration measured a total ice coverage of only 4.0% on the Great Lakes.
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