Lake and ocean effect processes can have a significant impact on snowfall amounts in many parts of North America, and can be very tricky to forecast. This short module is a collection of narrated reference material on many aspects of lake effect snow forecasting. It is divided into three main topics: Basic Ingredients of Lake/Ocean Snow, Banding Processes, and Satellite Detection. These materials are also available as the separate Supporting Topics within the case exercise module, Ocean Effect Snow: New England Snow Storm, 14 January 1999: http://meted.ucar.edu/norlat/snow/ocean_effect_case/.
• Identify the key conditions for the formation of lake or ocean effect snows events
• Identify the mesoscale factors that lead to the establishment of ocean effect snow bands.
• Describe how frictional and thermal convergence can impact lake effect snow production
• Recognize ocean effect snow bands from satellite and radar displays.
lake effect snow, ocean effect snow, heavy snow, snow banding
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