A wintry scene unfurled across the Great Lakes region in mid-December 2024, as a blast of frigid air traversed open water and dropped up to several feet of snow. Lake-effect snow buried some towns under heavy accumulation, while cold temperatures and gusty winds affected many more.
The VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the NOAA-21 satellite acquired these images on the afternoon of December 12. Both the natural-color (left) and false-color (right) images show clouds streaming across the lakes, along with snow-covered land. In the false-color scene, the combination of visible and infrared light (bands M11-I2-I1) allows clouds (white) to stand out from the snow (light blue), although small ice crystals in high-level clouds can also take on a bluish tinge. Vegetation appears bright green.
The parallel bands of clouds, or cloud streets, visible over the Great Lakes form when frigid, dry air blows across relatively warm lake water and picks up water vapor. The water vapor freezes into ice crystals, forming clouds that extend in the direction of the wind. When the moist air reaches the opposite shore, it can fall as lake-effect snow.
Snow accumulated on land downwind of the lakes, especially in northern Michigan and western New York, on December 12 and 13. Totals reached several feet in some pockets. Weather stations in Munising and Gaylord, Michigan, recorded over 14 and 17 inches (36 and 43 centimeters), respectively, over those two days. Meanwhile, in New York, Elma Center, just east of Buffalo, received 38 inches (97 centimeters) in that time. These totals come on top of the 46 inches that had fallen there earlier in the month.
Though the heaviest snow was localized, wintry conditions affected the wider region. Wind gusts reached 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour around the Great Lakes, according to news reports, and the wind chill dipped below 0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 degrees Celsius) across the Upper Midwest, including in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois. The wintry blast was short-lived, however, and temperatures warmed on December 14 as the coldest air shifted eastward.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Wanmei Liang, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Story by Lindsey Doermann.
