How can wind impact lake effect snow?

In many cases, lake effect snow develops between altitudes of 5,000 to 10,000 feet. At times, surface winds can differ from winds at these altitudes substantially. In meteorology we call this wind shear.

If winds are from the northwest between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, and surface winds are from the west, then lake effect snow could ‘drop down’ from the lake into lake shore communities. For ideal lake effect snow conditions, winds must be in fairly good alignment from the ground up to 10,000 feet.

When the wind direction varies at different levels of the lower atmosphere, lake effect snow becomes more disorganized. Some of the most memorable lake snow events occur east of Lake Ontario when surface winds line up with upper level winds on a westerly flow across the Lake.