Lake Erie Ice Cover

The lake effect snow machine has been fairly quiet as of late.  This is mainly due to the substantial amount of ice cover on Lake Erie. Open water is needed for lake effect snow and currently there is not very much.  Even though the majority of the lake is covered, we can still receive lake effect snow from  moisture through cracks and open spots on the lake, and even from Lake Huron. The chances of receiving lake effect snow though are very low when the lake is ice covered.  Those who hate the winter and all the snow that comes with it should be happy to hear of this news and to see the image below.   

Pictured below is a Lake Erie ice cover shot taken on February 3, 2011. (Credit: NWS/NOAA)
Earlier Ice Cover Images can be seen HERE.