Wintry Minnesota weekend; already 5 feet of snow around Buffalo, NY
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It feels like January out there this weekend. But I think we’re getting off lucky here in Minnesota compared to western New York.
Snowfall totals of 48”, yes that's 4 FEET, are already reported as of midday Friday in Blasdell just south of Buffalo.
And check out this beautiful clip of thundersnow in the Buffalo area from last night.
Anatomy of lake-effect snow
The meteorological anatomy of this likely record lake-effect snow event is astounding. First you need relatively warm water.
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Water temperatures in eastern Lake Erie are still in the mid-50s. That’s a ton of heat energy and moisture to fuel the intense lake-effect snow bands.
Next you need cold air that’s flowing over a long fetch of open water. Winds from the west-southwest are running a full 200 miles across Lake Erie. The plume is dumping out all that moisture as intense snowfall cells blast western New York. As of 6 p.m., they’re reporting 59 inches of snow.
The precise location of the heaviest snows may shift with wind direction over the weekend. But additional snowfall totals could reach 20 inches just south of Buffalo, NY.
Minnesota forecast: Quiet but cold
It feels like January instead of mid-November this weekend. Expect a few occasional snow showers and flurries, but accumulations should be minimal.
Highs Saturday will hover in the teens across Minnesota. Sunday brings the coldest morning with temperatures near zero up north with single digits in the south. The early look at Thanksgiving week suggests highs in the mid to upper 30s.
Let’s be thankful we aren’t Eden … yet.