Callisto - Storm Summary
Tues.- Fri. December
22 - 25, 1998
This event was the first
significant lake effect storm of the season...set off by the first
real cold snap following
an unprecedented mild fall and early winter. Arctic air surged
into the western and central
U.S during the period 19-21 December...and finally swept
into western and central
New York early on the 22nd following the passage of a sharp cold
front. Temperatures tumbled
from near 50 to the 20s in the predawn hours and rain changed
to snow. A general 1 to 2 inches of synoptic snow fell everywhere...then
the lake effect
machine turned on Tuesday morning and continued until finally shutting
down Friday
evening.This
event was a long lasting one. The activity off Lake Erie did quit a couple
of times during the event: Tuesday night...Wednesday night...and predawn
Friday...but only for a few
hours each time. Lake snows never totally shut down off Ontario..so we
considered this
all one event.The
peak times for the event were during Tuesday (up to 8" off Erie, up to
18" off Ontario); Tuesday night off Ontario (up to 18"); Thursday afternoon
and night off Ontario
(up to 30" on Tug Hill); and during Friday off Erie (Buffalo area up to
8").The
grand 84- hour totals were not that impressive...mainly because the bands
oscillated in response to frequent wind shifts associated with short waves
that were moving through the long wave trough. The lakes were several
degrees warmer than usual due to the previously mild conditions...so they
were able to initiate activity quite easily.The
greatest snowfall was 35" at Montague...with several other stations on
the Tug Hill and
in Oswego County having 18-24". About 10 inches fell over most of Jefferson
County. To the west...total
amounts were fairly modest...generally 8-12 inches in snowbelts
of southern Erie and Wyoming counties...down into NW Cattaraugus and
Chautauqua counties. Another
isolated area of 6-10 inches fell across metro Buffalo’s
south side. An inch or
less fell over Buffalo’s northern suburbs and Niagara County...as
well as the Rochester
area and the Finger Lakes region.This
band provided a nearly idyllic landscape to celebrate Christmas Day across
the towns just to the south of Buffalo, where a very fluffy 8 inches of
snow fell throughout the morning in nearly calm wind conditions.
It was a scene right out of Currier and Ives and was a great present for
snow lovers from Mother Nature herself!We
were able to get some nice imagery from the beginning and end of this event,
but we could not get much from the portion that buried the Tug Hill plateau,
sorry.
Flake
Rating - ***