A satellite image on Tuesday captured the dramatic, lake-effect snowfall across southern Ontario. The contrast is striking: Regions downwind of Lake Huron are painted in a thick coat of white, while communities just adjacent to these localized bands remain completely untouched.
The most stunning example is the sharp cutoff 20 kilometres east of Sarnia, Ont., highlighting fields coated in white to bare ground in under a kilometre.
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(NASA)
The thunderstorms of winter
This highlights how snow squalls are the “thunderstorms of winter,” and being convective, they can deliver over 140 cm of snow, as seen over the past several days. These convective engines are generated by the temperature difference of cold air passing over a warmer lake.
Just 20 kilometres east of Sarnia, the distinct boundary of snow is visualized carving through the landscape. These squalls can change direction and pivot quickly, meaning drivers are often caught off guard by their meandering nature.
GTA: the have-nots (for now)
White the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has largely remained snow-free during this lake-effect, but that will change on Wednesday.
A clipper system is set to sweep in and bring snow across a more widespread area.
It’s meeting the definition of a clipper, which typically brings more widespread, albeit lighter snowfall.