Originally Posted by
cooker
We had a very warm and snowless December. We started having variable cold and snow flurries about a week ago, including a modest snowfall last night that slowed traffic a bit today. Around last New Years (a year ago) we were having a record cold spell. There's a bit of light snow coming down today. Toronto has a weird lake effect that typically gives us much less snow than areas around us, including Buffalo, NY, just south of us.
Usually, December is the big month for lake effect snow here, but this season it was postponed by El Nino to January. Of course, the lake effect never stops totally unless Lake Michigan freezes over totally. Right now, we are getting two or three inches a day, but that adds up pretty quickly on a daily basis. (Of course we also get the normal snow storm systems that everybody else gets, such as eight inches on Monday-Tuesday.)
When it comes to lake effect snow, Grand Rapids, just 60 miles to the west, gets a hell of a lot more snow than we do here in Lansing. We're about as far inland as you can get in Michigan, but the entire state can be affected by strong winds blowing over the unfrozen Great Lakes.
The snow gets packed down on the streets, and cleared off of major roads. With studded tires, I can safely ride on about 90% of the days, but it can be a little dicey on the other 10%. Walking is a much bigger challenge due to slippery sidewalks and huge snow berms on the road edges. The bus runs real well, although there can be delays during major snow storms.