Lake Effect Snows To Be Hint Of Normalcy In Weird December

In November, 2014, epic lake effect snows
buried homes near Buffalo, New York.
Lake effect snows are due in the region
again this weekend, but accumulations will
be far lighter than pictured here. 

Lake effect snow warnings are flying in parts of western New York east of the Great Lakes as cold winds are expected to blow across the relatively warm waters of lakes Ontario and Erie today and Saturday.

Up to two feet of snow might accumulate south of Watertown, New York, near Lake Ontario, and up to 14 inches of snow south of Buffalo, near Lake Erie.

December is usually the big month for lake effect snows near the Great Lakes. Some lingering warmth is in the water from summer, and cold blasts of Arctic air usually surge down from Canada.

The cold air picks up moisture from the sort of mild waters and dumps it as heavy snow squalls downwind from the lakes.

This year, there's been no cold air to be had, so no lake effect. Places like Buffalo have had their latest first snows of the season on record.

Two feet of snow sounds like a lot, but this is pretty typical for a December lake effect outbreak, and they're used to this in western New York.

It's also not going to last. The cold wave coming down is not that big a deal, only bringing near normal temperatures for a couple days to the Northeast.

Then it's going to warm right back up again, with record temperatures in parts of the East over Christmas week.

Which  means even the few places that get blasted by lake effect snow this weekend still might not end up with a White Christmas.