Abstract
Heavy snowfalls can pose natural hazards in the North American Great Lakes region. Maximum annual snowfalls are presented from an extensive data base at 82 long-period-of-record stations. In the absence of site-specific information, these data should be useful to designers, planners, and resource managers in the region. A relationship exists between maximum snowfalls and latitude because the northern Great Lakes climate is cooler and drier than the climate of the southern Great Lakes. A relationship between longitude and maximum snowfalls appears to be based on the longitudinal variation of precipitable water vapor aloft. No apparent relationship exists between maximum snowfall and elevation when station data are analyzed without regard to data from lake-effect zones. However, when one lake-effect region was analyzed in detail, an orographic effect was clearly evident in both maximum and average annual snowfalls.
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Bolsenga, S.J., Norton, D.C. Maximum snowfall at long-term stations in the U.S./Canadian Great Lakes. Nat Hazards 5, 221–232 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00125228
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00125228