A snowbelt is a region, many of which lie downwind of the Great Lakes, where heavy snowfall is particularly common. Near the Great Lakes, a particular form of snowbelt is lake-effect snow, caused by cold air picking up moisture while crossing the lake and then releasing it as snow when the air cools over land. The Great Lakes produce lake-effect snow and continuous cloudy skies throughout the winter months, as long as air temperatures are colder than the lake water temperatures. Animation of snowcover changing with the seasons. ... Lake-effect clouds off Lakes Superior and Michigan; satellite image taken December 5, 2000, courtesy of NASA. Lake effect snow is produced in the winter when cold winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water, picking up water vapor which freezes and is deposited on the lee shores. ... The Great Lakes from space The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes in North America on or near the Canada-United States border. ...

Well-known snow belts exist southeast of Lake Erie from Cleveland, Ohio to Buffalo, New York and south of Lake Ontario stretching roughly from Rochester, New York, to Syracuse, New York, and northward to Watertown, New York. Similar snow belts exist on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan in Michigan and Indiana, and on the eastern shores of Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Lake Erie, looking southward from a high rural bluff near Leamington, Ontario Lake Erie (pronounced ) is one of the five large freshwater Great Lakes in North America, which are among the largest in the world. ... Nickname: The Forest City Motto: Progress and Prosperity Location in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Ohio County Cuyahoga Founded 1796 Incorporated 1836 Mayor Frank G. Jackson (D) Area    - City 82. ... Nickname: City of Good Neighbors, Queen City, City of Light Location of Buffalo in New York State County Erie County Mayor Byron Brown Area    - City 136. ... Lake Ontario (French: lac Ontario), bounded on the north by Ontario and on the south by Ontarios Niagara Peninsula and by New York State, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. ... Nickname: The Flour City, The Flower City, The Worlds Image Center Motto: Rochester: Made for Living Location of Rochester in New York State Country United States State New York County Monroe Mayor Robert Duffy Area    - City 37. ... Nickname: The Salt City Location of Syracuse within the state of New York Coordinates: City Mayor Matthew Driscoll Area    - City 66. ... Watertown is a town in Jefferson County, New York. ... Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one in the group located entirely within the United States. ... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Area  Ranked 11th  - Total 97,990 sq mi (253,793 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 491 miles (790 km)  - % water 41. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq mi (94,321 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 270 miles (435 km)  - % water 1. ... Lake Superior (known as Gichigami in an Ojibwe language), bounded by Ontario and Minnesota to the north and Wisconsin and Michigan in the south, is the largest of North Americas Great Lakes. ... Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes Lake Huron, bounded on the west by Michigan and on the east by Ontario, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. ... Georgian Bay (French: baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, located in Ontario, Canada. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English Flower White Trillium Tree Eastern White Pine Bird Common Loon Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 106 24 Area Total... The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that comprise the U.S. state of Michigan. ...

Lake Erie is the smallest of the five Great Lakes and the most shallow. It can completely freeze over during winter. Once frozen, lake-effect snow over land to the east and south of Lake Erie is temporarily alleviated. Lake Erie, looking southward from a high rural bluff near Leamington, Ontario Lake Erie (pronounced ) is one of the five large freshwater Great Lakes in North America, which are among the largest in the world. ... The Great Lakes from space The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes in North America on or near the Canada-United States border. ...