Odd snow squall formation off Lake Ontario catches many off guard

Digital WritersThe Weather Network
Digital Writers

Typically, lake-effect snow squalls are formed and fuelled by northerly winds whipping across the warm waters of the Great Lakes. Tuesday saw a peculiar band develop off the west end of Lake Ontario.

While lake-effect snow squalls are a common sight in the winter in southern Ontario, as was the case Tuesday, one of the bands had a surprising direction in its formation.

Snow squalls developed off the west end of Lake Ontario and pushed into the Toronto area from the south -- an unusual direction for a lake-effect band, according to Tyler Hamilton, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.

lakeeffect

The equation for the odd development involved cold, dense air at the surface, paired with a southerly wind that isn't normally associated with an Arctic air mass. The result: Bursts of snow moving into Toronto.

"These squalls literally flew under the radar across the west end of Lake Ontario on Tuesday," said Hamilton. "That's only about a 50- or 60-kilometre journey. Normally, squalls really like to meander along the longest axis of the lake."

Watch the video above to get a full explanation on this strange snow squall formation off Lake Ontario.