**LAKE EFFECT STORM "BANANA"**

December 23 -- 25, 2004

Maximum Snowfall: Lk.Erie 13" (West Seneca); Lk. Ontario 23" (Pulaski).

Duration: 36 hours +/-

Prime Feature: High impact on Buffalo metro Christmas Eve.

The season's second event followed the passage of a very deep low
pressure area which passed from the Gulf right over Buffalo during the
midday of the 23^rd^. Temperatures were in the 50s east of the low...but
held in the 30s immediately to the west. This was the same storm which
buried the Ohio Valley under record one to two foot snowfalls and even
dropped 8 inches as close as the Niagara Peninsula. Colder air swept
into western New York following the passage of the storm Thursday
afternoon (23^rd^) and set up some lake effect over higher elevations of
the southern tier during the evening which dropped 2 to 4 inches
overnight along the ridges back from Lake Erie from Stockton and
Perrysburg to Warsaw. A more intense band set up over northern Oswego
and southwest Lewis counties overnight into Friday morning and dropped
up to 12 inches near Pulaski.

The activity off Lake Erie reorganized during the mid and late morning
of Friday 24th into a single wide band from about Silver Creek to Boston
and then raced northward into the Buffalo metro area during the early
afternoon. The steering wind fields were very light...unlike a normal
Buffalo area lake storm...but the airmass was very cold and dendritic
snow growth parameters were optimum...with huge fluffy flakes of low
water content. The snow area lifted up into southern Niagara
county...then settled back over northern Erie county from about 3 to 6
pm before drifting south during the evening. A general 6 to 12 inches
fell..with the heaviest amount from Downtown to the Airport. It was
Buffalo's 6^th^ major (over 6") lake storm in the last 12 years on
either Dec 24 or 25!. The activity consolidated near the lakeshore
overnight and early Saturday Christmas Day from about Dunkirk to
Collins...then drifted west into the lake and dissipated Saturday
morning.

The activity off Ontario followed a similar trend to that of
Erie's...albeit about 6 hours later. Snowbands moved north into
Jefferson County Friday afternoon and evening...dropping 4 to 8
inches...then settled south again late Friday night and continued into
Oswego county again Saturday morning. The band weakened and drifted west
into Lake Ontario during the day Saturday as the winds turned light
easterly..even reaching Toronto Saturday night! The flow turned
northeast on Sunday and a new lake band set up along the south shore of
the Lake and settled into Niagara to Monroe counties Sunday
night...dropping 3 to 6 inches!

Here are some representative reports....

Off Erie... Off Ontario....

-West Seneca...13 inches Pulaski.......23 inches

-Buffalo AP..... 12 inches N. Osceola... 8 inches

-Hamburg ... 10 inches Hooker..... 8 inches

-Boston/Colden 8 inches Mexico ..... 7 inches

-Silver Creek..... 8 inches Watertown 5 inches

-Amherst .... 6 inches

The event was a relatively modest storm but had large impacts as it
affected a major population area and disrupted some holiday travel on
Christmas Eve, including closure of the Buffalo airport for a few
hours....so the event earns **\*\*\* 3 Stars \*\*\***

**File:Banana**