Jerry's up in northern Indiana, and the white stuff is on his mind. So I asked him:
Where are you located, precisely? What town?
I was talking to some folks from DeKalb County, IL, and they surprised me by saying lake effect snow is rather rare where they are. Maybe it’s because they are too far west?
He replied:
Mishawaka (adjacent to South Bend) is located in extreme northern Indiana, about 30 miles or so east of the southern tip of Lake Michigan. In order for us to get significant lake effect snow, the wind has to be from the northwest (as it is today!). Yesterday, however, the wind was almost due northerly and very steady, so the area just south of the lake got hammered. As the winds in these polar outbreaks are generally from the northwest quadrant, it is rare for Illinois to get significant lake effect snow.
I replied:
Mishawaka! I had forgotten!
There was an interesting news story about people trapped on the freeway up there.
He updated today's report with:
One town about 30 miles east of here (Wanatah, IN) received 33 inches of snow over a three-day period!
When the wind is from the north, the fetch is the entire length of Lake Michigan, so amazing totals are possible.
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