© 2010 International Weather Experience Center @ Buffalo


	I know about the term "lake effect" in the winter but do the Great Lakes produce lake effect in the summer too? Ken, North Buffalo During the summer, Lakes Erie and Ontario provide a "natural air conditioner" that makes Western New York one of the most comfortable areas in the country to enjoy. You see, water warms and cools more slowly than the air. Therefore, Lakes Erie and Ontario are cooler for the most part than the air temperature on most summer days. A prevailing southwest wind on Lake Erie moves that cooler air from the lake downwind across Buffalo and its immediate suburbs providing a nice respite from the oppressive heat that can occur at our latitude in mid-summer. In addition, on days when the winds are relatively weak and the air is quite a bit warmer than the water, the lake generates local breezes of its own called a "lake breeze." A lake breeze blows from the cooler water onto the shore and a few miles inland. That cool lake breeze also keeps clouds from forming on summer afternoons. This is the primary reason Buffalo is the sunniest large city in the NE from May to September. So, Buffalo not only has very comfortable summer days as a result of Lake Erie, but those conditions result in a lot of sunshine as well. If you want a "birds-eye" look at how this happens, check out this image. "Lake effect" is a term that can describe the local effects that the Great lakes have on our weather at all times of the year. The Great Lakes are one of the most interesting natural laboratories in the world to study weather at all times of the year. It's just another example of the tremendous resources we have to enjoy here in our own backyard of western New York and southern Ontario! Thanks to Tom Niziol, Meteorologist-in-Charge, National Weather Service, Buffalo and Don Paul, Chief Meterologist, WIVB-TV Channel 4 for contributing to IWEC's "Ask the Expert."