Lake effect snow warning: Wyoming County could see up to 16 inches. Will Rochester be impacted?

A lake effect snow warning was issued for parts of western New York, including Wyoming County, which is predicted to see between 8 and 16 inches of snow by Wednesday morning.

According to the National Weather Service in Buffalo, the warning runs from 10 a.m. Monday through 7 a.m. Wednesday and covers Wyoming, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and southern Erie counties, south of Buffalo and near Lake Erie. Wind gusts up to 35 mph are also predicted, which could yield difficult road conditions with blowing and drifting snow.

The heaviest snow bands could bring as much as 20 inches of snow across the Chautauqua Ridge by Wednesday morning, forecasters said. The heaviest snow is expected Monday night through Tuesday, when up to 2 inches of snow per hour could fall within the heaviest snow bands.

Lake effect snow warning issued for Oswego, Jefferson and Lewis counties

A similar lake effect snow warning was issued for Oswego, Jefferson and Lewis counties, where 1 to 2 feet of snow is possible by Wednesday morning. That warning runs from 4 p.m. Monday through 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Rochester NY weather forecast: How much snow will our area get?

During that span, Rochester could see some lake effect snow, but little accumulation - maybe an inch or so - is expected Tuesday night, according to the Weather Service.

The high in Rochester between Monday and Wednesday is in the 30s and the low drops to the mid-20s. The normal high in Rochester in late November is 45.

What is lake effect snow?

When snow piles up in places such as Rochester and Buffalo in western New York or Marquette in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, people start talking about the lake effect.

Lake effect snow, which can last for only a few minutes or a range spanning several days, develops from narrow bands of clouds that form when cold, dry arctic air passes over a large, relatively mild lake.

As the cold air passes over the unfrozen and "warm" waters of the Great Lakes, warmth and moisture are transferred into the lowest portion of the atmosphere, the National Weather Service says. The air rises, and clouds form and grow into narrow bands that produce 2 to 3 inches of snow an hour or more.

Wind direction is also a key component in determining which areas will receive lake effect snow. Heavy snow may be falling in one spot, while the sun may be shining just a mile or two away in either direction.

In Buffalo, the region receives most of its lake effect snow from Lake Erie, while Rochester's lake effect snow comes from Lake Ontario, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

Buffalo tends to see fewer, but more intense bands of lake effect snow, resulting in larger amounts of heavy snow that can deposit up to 4 inches an hour.

Rochester, on the other hand, sees smaller but more frequent amounts of lake effect snow, often lasting days at a time.

These snows typically occur only in the fall or early winter, before the lakes freeze over. (But if the lakes don't freeze, lake effect snow can occur throughout the winter and into the spring.)

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester NY Weather: Lake effect snow warning for Wyoming County