Wednesday's extreme cold and high winds have forecasters calling for possibly dangerous conditions. But it was something else that caused reporters in the WVXU newsroom to glance questioningly at one another.
Lake effect snow.
We saw it first on Twitter:
NEW: Winter weather advisory EXTENDED until 5 pm due to lake effect snow squalls and blowing snow. @wcpo #cincywx pic.twitter.com/cBvCB6IkSB
— Jason Adams (@JasonAdamsWFTS) February 18, 2015
We heard about it again during WCPO's noon news. How, we wondered, could the Tristate, more than 200 miles away from the closest Great Lake, be at risk for lake effect snow?
We dialed up our partners at 9 First Warning Weather and reached meteorologist Sherry Hughes.
"We wouldn't have it if we didn't have the strong winds," said Hughes.
"It is very possible anywhere in the region to still encounter lake effect snow," she explained. "The reason being, when the winds pick up and are very gusty, a lot of what you have to the north is being blown down stream. So that's what we're talking about when we say 'lake effect snow.' It's not the snow showers that are being generated directly off of the lakes but it is the flow that we're referring to when we get some of these squalls that are possible."
Hughes expects scattered snow squalls and possible whiteout conditions in some areas.
