Lake effect snow season is just getting started, and folks in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan will get a work out this winter. The lake just got through a summer with lake water temperatures well above normal, and that should lead to a bonanza of snow this winter.

Last winter and spring were rather mild, and there was an unusual lack of lake ice last winter. Add a period of above normal air temperatures and more sunshine than normal, and the lake is very warm. This summer that was great news for swimmers. Lake temperatures hovered around 68 degrees all summer long, peaking at 73 degrees near Isle Royale. The Lake Superior water temperature was the warmest since the early 1980s.

When cold arctic air moves over the lake this winter, the warmer lake will yield more snow. One of the processes that generate lake effect snow is the difference in temperature between the lake and the air. The warmer the water, or the colder the air, the more snow will fall. A warmer lake will also take longer to freeze this winter, so the lake effect snow season will be longer than most years. Parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan have had over 300 inches of snow in a year.