WE GET LAKE EFFECT SNOW, WHY NOT LAKE EFFECT RAIN?

Written by: Brian Neudorff

Can we get lake effect rain, the answer to that question is yes, yes we can. It works very similar to lake effect snow. Lake effect precipitation occurs when cold air, passing over relatively warm waters of a large lake, picks up moisture and heat and then precipitates the moisture out over the lake or along the downwind shores. Lake-effect rain is produced in a similar way as lake-effect snow, with the biggest difference being the temperature of the overriding blast of cold air, which is cold enough to get the process going, but warm enough near the surface and just above so that the precipitation hitting the ground falls as rain rather than as snow.



Some will get a few lake effect rain drops through the day Saturday as some unseasonably cold air moves over western New York Saturday. Most of the day temperatures will be in the low 60s. We have already seen a few lake effect streamers out over Lake Ontario and coming off of Lake Erie this morning.