Originally Posted by n20michael (Post 3832056)

I was referring to the several FEET of snow that area's NORTH of the GL region used to get, that in turn melted and fed the tributaries and eventually the great lakes

Pretty sure the 8ft of snow that was in Ottawa when I was there a few years ago WASN'T lake effect snow, but, maybe you could clear that up for me.

Following your theory the lack of snow over the last few years would mean an INCREASE in water levels, would it not???

Originally Posted by Donzi ZX (Post 3832078)

I'll take a stab at explaining it...lake effect is formed when warmer air from over the lake dumps moisture as the air passes over the cooler land, keeping the snowfall (moisture) closer to shore, which eventually melts and ends up back in the lake. When the winter is warmer, it causes more water to evap from the lake, and since the land is warmer than the lake, the moisture in the air gets carried further inland, so most of it doesn't end up back in the lake.

Originally Posted by Interceptor (Post 3832229)

Here's another fact that doesn't help the Great Lakes. About 90% of the snow that falls in Ontario melts into river that drain NORTH into Hudson Bay. Very few northern Ontario rivers drain into Superior.
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