Heavy Single Lake Effect Snow Band February 4th, 2009

A band of heavy lake effect snow formed on Tuesday night over Lake Michigan, affecting parts of northwest Indiana and extreme southwest lower Michigan. The visible satellite image below shows how the single band extended along the length of Lake Michigan in contrast to the multiple bands over Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

The heaviest snow fell in Indiana in Porter and La Porte counties, where several locations reported more than 16 inches of snow through around 9a on Wednesday. Snowfall rates of 1-3" per hour and whiteout conditions were also reported on Tuesday night. The map below includes official and unofficial reports from emergency managers, co-op program observers, CoCoRaHS, snow spotters, and amateur radio operators through around 9a on Wednesday. Much appreciation is extended to everyone who measured snowfall and made those reports available.

map of snowfall totals

Kanofsky