SNOW BANDS
a. Before we move on to satellite images, Take a close look at the
bundle at 12z (8 AM EST) on January 29th, which is where the bundle should
be at this time. Notice the large isosurface of omega over the eastern
shore of Lake Ontario and the direction of the wind vectors. Also,
look at the sounding at 12z and notice the unstable boundary layer up to 750mb, where a strong
cap is present. Keep this in mind as you
look at the satellite imagery.
b. Click on the link for the bundle sat_lake_effect.xidv.
Make sure to click on "Remove all displays & data", and hit OK.
c. Three windows should appear: 1) The Display Window, 2) The Data
Selector Window, and 3) Parameter Control Windows.
A satellite bundle of five Infrared GOES 12 images (from 8:31z to 13:01z)
should be present. To start the loop, hit the play button on the toolbar.
While watching the loop, think back to the convection you saw at 12z in the
previous bundle when analyzing the snow events. You should notice
one narrow snow band coming off Lake Ontario and a few snow bands coming
off of Lake Huron.
Lake effect snow bands develop parallel to the prevailing wind flow in the mixed
layer. For the most part, these snow bands occur as a large single band (from
longer fetch like over Lake Ontario) or an area with multiple small bands (from
shorter fetch like over Lake Huron). In this case Oswego, NY (east of Lake
Ontario) was hit with a single band which left some surrounding areas with over 70
inches of snow.
