the LES guns

[tequilamonsta]

Feel free to put this on the farthest back burner if you want...I'm in no hurry for a response.

My knowledge of LES is not very stout, so, I apologize if this is a straightforward answer. But, I was curious if the LES guns work in reverse. Historically, quite a few low pressure systems track from CO area to the midwest drawing gulf moisture. When these lows are in such a place that they create east/southeasterly/south winds across the big lake, which 'guns' have the biggest, if any, effect.

Is it the gulf moisture that takes over and shuts the LES down in this case? Or, is there a compounding effect of both gulf moisture and LES? Of course, this assumes the air coming from that direction is cold enough, but can the 'guns' be turned. I know when the guns are aimed at the Keweenaw, we're typically very chilly in northern minnesota. But, if the 'gulf' gun combined with the LES 'gun' that could be pretty serious.

It looked pretty snowy from Isle Royale and north; maybe it'll snow so much over there that the island will look like an iceberg from shore on the Keweenaw...

 

[jd]

That's a very good question.

LES can and does blow in from the east when conditions are ripe and at times the highlands just inland of the north shore of MN can get hammered with feet of snow.

However, many times when we have an easterly wind in the wintertime, there is a storm passing through, so any effect the lake causes on snow formation in northeast MN is sort of overshadowed by the larger scale "system snows" being produced by the storm itself. Plus just an east wind is not enough. As you mentioned, you need cold enough temps and also the atmosphere to be unstable enough to produce the thick enough clouds to produce the snow.

So LES guns pointing in from the east do occur, but are not as common as from the NW, west or north and many times they are overshadowed by system snows that are going on at the same time.

Merry Christmas to you and your family and all of those hanging out on the Ash Trail!

-John