This is what it looks like when we get 6 inches of Lake Effect Snow in 12 hours. Unless you live in an area where this kind of weather pattern occurs, you have no idea what it is like to go from sunshine to a complete white-out in a matter of seconds. The bands of snow–called “streamers”–can be as narrow as a half mile or less but produce snow at the rate of 3 to 5 inches an hour–this not only cuts visibility to zero, but, since the squalls are usually accompanied by high winds, can glaze roads in seconds.
We’re lucky in that we live on the fringe of most of the LES but, when the winds are from the Northwest or really blowing from the west, we can get socked with LES off Lakes Ontario or Erie. That is what happened beginning yesterday afternoon and into this morning. Imagine too that a year ago this time we were playing golf.