Have you ever seen a true lake effect snow storm? We had a textbook case this morning. I left my house, it was sunny, as I drove east I could see an arm of dark cloud reaching southward. By the time I got to my job 20 miles east of my house, it was a blizzard. It snowed half the day, a fluffy dry snow. 16" deep. When I got home, it was sunny and not a flake on the ground.
As a matter of fact …
They name everything “lake effect” around here. There’s the Lake Effect Inn, the Lake Effect Herefords dairy farm, etc.
Average snowfall, maybe 200 to 350 inches per year. It’s hip deep on the ground right now and we’ve had two long thaws that took off about three feet of snow from before, so this is just from the last ten days or so. Four inches per hour is not unusual at all, and you can often drive right out from under it and see no snow falling and sometimes bare ground within less than ten miles.
I spent the day (including some time this evening under the full moon) removing several tons of snow from the roofs of two mobile homes that I’m renovating. They’re engineered for a 30 pound per square foot roof load, and I can’t allow the snow to break the roof trusses.
When I finished the first one, I simply jumped off the roof into the snowbank. I sank up to my armpits, which I hadn’t planned for. “Hmm, what do I do now?” methought.
Best wishes,
Jerry
Around here we have what’s called the Atlanta effect. The weatherman says It is going to snow so all the schools and govt. offices announce that they will be closed the next day based on the prediction. The local news media creates a smart graphic and a title like “Snow-Jam 2003” or something complete with music and all. Then all the bread and milk disappear off the shelves at a breakneck pace everywhere. And everyone battons down the hatches and gets ready for the deluge. Of course, usually, nothing happens. Not hardly a flake falls and everyone ends up going to work and living life normally except for having to eat all the bread and milk.
What inevitably happens, though, is that the weatherman misses the real storm that actually comes the next month and everyone gets stuck at work for the night. 
Although they do occasionally delay or close school around here (usually because of whiteout driving conditions), the roads are kept amazingly clear. They’re used to this, and very good at dealing with it.
I grew up in southern Indiana, where a three-inch snowfall would shut down the whole city for half a day or more. It really helps to have plenty of those big snowploughs handy.
When it actually does snow here they pretty much have to close everything because Atlanta doesn’t really have enough equipment to clear all the roads properly. It usually only happens about once a year or so, so there’s no sense in the city investing in too much more snow-clearing equipment. We can live with it. 
Boy, those weathermen have it made. They’re on T.V., they get to wear those shnazy blazers and they don’t have to be right more than 50% of the time…and they still get paid!
When I saw “lake effect” I thought it was about this.
http://www.greenlinnet.com/shopping/search_detail.cfm?productID=1030
If you go to listen and then MP3 you can hear one track of it.
Steve
We get the lake effect here in NE Ohio. I live on the far western edge of the Ohio/Penn/NY snow belt so we only get lots of snow when the wind is from N or NE. Steve, you must get some of it from L Huron.
Mike
There’s supposed to be something called a snow line. And it’s supposed to be somewhat to the north of us. Most of the snow accumulates north of it. Sometimes we get a lot of snow sometimes not much. I lived in Wisconson one winter and there’s never been anything like that.
Steve
On 2003-01-18 09:54, SteveK wrote:
There’s supposed to be something called a snow line. And it’s supposed to be somewhat to the north of us. Most of the snow accumulates north of it. Sometimes we get a lot of snow sometimes not much. I lived in Wisconson one winter and there’s never been anything like that.Steve
Amen to that, Steve. The coldest, snowiest winter I’ve ever been through was the winter of '75 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
~Larry
On 2003-01-17 23:52, Paul wrote:
When it actually does snow here they pretty much have to close everything because Atlanta doesn’t really have enough equipment to clear all the roads properly. It usually only happens about once a year or so, so there’s no sense in the city investing in too much more snow-clearing equipment. We can live with it. >
Doesn’t really matter if the roads are clear or not here. Most people will drive in anything. Even when they really shouldn’t. 
I remember seeing three cars spin at the ssame intersection just a couple of days ago while walking to and from my classes.
A.J.
I live in Cleveland’s secondary snow belt. When the wind is right, the primary belt, centered in Chardon, gets 10 inches, we get 5, and the rest of Cleveland gets nada. Unless the wind shifts and then it dumps on the West side and misses us. I like those better. Chardon gets it either way. Our local weather guys heve it pegged pretty well.
On 2003-01-17 23:41, Paul wrote:
Then all the bread and milk disappear off the shelves at a breakneck pace everywhere. And everyone battons down the hatches and gets ready for the deluge. Of course, usually, nothing happens.
Isn’t that bizarre? Being a Yankee, I’d never seen that till I moved south. They predict a couple of inches, and suddenly all the bread, milk, and eggs disappear, plus it’s impossible to get into the grocery store. People will actually push and shove if it’s a big storm (like 6") that’s been predicted. Don’t people keep food in their houses? Anyone heard of pantries? Do they really think they’ll suffer if they’re shut up for a day or two (not likely as pointed out) without two weeks’ worth of milk? Do they eat eggs every day? (I often see people with 2 dozen, occasionally 4 dozen eggs preparing for a storm.)
On 2003-01-18 10:35, FJohnSharp wrote:
When the wind is right, the primary belt, centered in Chardon, gets 10 inches, we get 5, and the rest of Cleveland gets nada. … Chardon gets it either way.
I live just between Akron and Canton, so I don’t see any lake effect. My dad wants to buy a place in Chardon, however. He says he likes the idea of being snowed in now that he’s retired. I told him to paint his windows white, don’t leave the house and pretend he’s in Chardon.
Lake effect storms are very common for us near the Great Salt Lake. Living just a few miles to the east of the lake, we can get huge amounts of snow from it - unfortuntately, not this year. In the midst of a drought, at my house we’ve probably had a total of 3" of snow all winter.
Susan
I live just between Akron and Canton, so I don’t see any lake effect. My dad wants to buy a place in Chardon, however. He says he likes the idea of being snowed in now that he’s retired. I told him to paint his windows white, don’t leave the house and pretend he’s in Chardon.
Hey! you live by Akron, you ever been to the soap box derby?
On 2003-01-17 23:41, Paul wrote:
Around here we have what’s called the Atlanta effect. The weatherman says It is going to snow so all the schools and govt. offices announce that they will be closed the next day based on the prediction. The local news media creates a smart graphic and a title like “Snow-Jam 2003” or something complete with music and all. Then all the bread and milk disappear off the shelves at a breakneck pace everywhere. And everyone battons down the hatches and gets ready for the deluge. Of course, usually, nothing happens. Not hardly a flake falls and everyone ends up going to work and living life normally except for having to eat all the bread and milk.What inevitably happens, though, is that the weatherman misses the real storm that actually comes the next month and everyone gets stuck at work for the night. >
Do you ever wonder about that whole bread and milk thing? We lived in North Carolina for 10 years, and it was the same deal…any prediction of snow and bingo! There goes all the bread and milk.
I always thought it was funny because the one thing that ALWAYS happened when we got snow or ice is that we lost electrical power (sometimes for days). Of all the things one could buy in preparation for a storm, I would think that bread and milk would be near the bottom of the list.
Redwolf
On 2003-01-18 12:58, Bagfed wrote:
Hey! you live by Akron, you ever been to the soap box derby?
I’ve been to Derby Downs several times, but not for the Soapbox Derby. I was there for a skateboard derby about 25 years ago, though.
My dad wants to buy a place in Chardon, however. He says he likes the idea of being snowed in now that he’s retired. I told him to paint his windows white, don’t leave the house and pretend he’s in Chardon.
Can you say, two stage snow blower?
Lake effect storms are very common for us near the Great Salt Lake. Living just a few miles to the east of the lake, we can get huge amounts of snow from it - unfortuntately, not this year. In the midst of a drought, at my house we’ve probably had a total of 3" of snow all winter.
Susan
There are only five place on earth where lake effect occurs. The Great Lakes, The Great Salt Lake, some island in Japan, and the others I can’t remember.