Lake effect

Perhaps you’ve heard of the butterfly effect – the idea that the fluttering of a butterfly’s wings in one part of the world eventually becomes a hurricane in another part of the world. This photograph that I took earlier this morning is a picture of lake effect – the wisps of steam you see rising from the waters near Kewaunee on the eastern shore of Wisconsin will eventually become snow squalls on the western shore of Michigan – you can see the clouds already building in the distance.

For the past several days, strong arctic winds have blown across the upper Great Lakes region. These icy winds pick up moisture from the relatively warm surface of the lakes and drop the moisture as snow when it reaches land on the other side.

Western and central lower Michigan have been pounded the last several days with blizzard-like snowfalls, causing treacherous conditions and creating multiple car accidents on the highways across the state. And this is where all the trouble started – with gentle wisps of steam at the edge of Wisconsin’s shore.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2007 James Jordan.

snow lake effect snowstorm Michigan