NASA Images Reveal 'Cloud Streets' Over Great Lakes

What's New

NASA's Earth Observatory has unveiled stunning satellite images of "cloud streets" forming over the Great Lakes, a phenomenon associated with lake-effect snow. Captured by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite on the NOAA-21 satellite, the images from December 12 reveal parallel cloud bands streaming across the lakes and heavy snow blanketing nearby regions. These natural color and false color images highlight the distinct patterns of clouds and snow.

Why It Matters

Lake-effect snow is a defining winter feature for communities near the Great Lakes, with significant implications for travel, infrastructure and safety. The recent snowfall buried towns in Michigan and New York under several feet of snow, while frigid temperatures and gusty winds disrupted life for millions.

What To Know

The formation of cloud streets, sometimes called "streamers," occurs when cold, dry air moves over the warmer, unfrozen waters of the Great Lakes, picking up moisture and forming parallel bands of clouds. These bands, aligned with wind direction, can stretch over 100 miles and trigger intense snowfall when the moist air reaches the opposite shore. On rare occasions, they can stretch all the way from Lake Superior to the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts. Towns like Elma Center, New York, recorded up to 38 inches of snow, while parts of Michigan saw totals exceeding 17 inches over two days. Wind gusts reached 40 miles per hour, and wind chills dropped below 0 degrees in cities like Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Chicago. The false-color satellite image distinguishes clouds (white) from snow-covered land (light blue) and vegetation (bright green). It was created by combining both visible and infrared light. Lake-effect snow typically develops in narrow snow bands capable of producing 2 to 3 inches of snowfall per hour. These events are influenced by wind direction, temperature differences and geographic features. Under a cloud street, snowfall can be heavy, with AccuWeather describing scenes akin to "winter wonderland." Just a mile or two away, the skies can be clear and sunny, with no snow on the ground. While the phenomenon is common in late fall and winter, its intensity varies. Rare instances, like the 2014 Buffalo, New York, snowstorm that brought 88 inches of snow, demonstrate the potential for prolonged and extreme impacts.

What People Are Saying

Grady Gilman, a meteorologist at AccuWeather, told Newsweek: "Lake-effect snow develops when cold air moves over a relatively warm, large body of water, most typically found in the Great Lakes. Not only do the vast bodies of water of the Great Lakes provide a robust source of moisture, but the warmth of the water relative to the cold air aloft provides an additional lifting mechanism due to warmer air having a lower density relative to colder air." He added: "Though given a different name, sea-effect snow is also a common phenomenon in parts of the world, namely Japan, where the same mechanisms are in place as lake-effect [snow], but the moisture source instead of a lake is the sea." He said the highest accumulations of snow from the latest lake-effect snow event fell 4 miles northwest of Eden, New York, where 42.5 inches were observed. Around Thanksgiving, portions of I-90 were shut as travelers headed out for the holidays. Near Barnes Corners, New York, 65.5 inches were reported. "Which area, or what city or portion of a city, will get the heaviest lake-effect snow is often determined by shifts in the wind direction of as little as 5 or 10 degrees on the compass," Gilman said. "One location can have zero visibility and total white-out conditions, while a few miles down the road it is partly sunny." Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the cloud streets or lake-effect snow? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.