Lake-effect snow streaming eastward from the Great Lakes into parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, northern Indiana, northeastern Ohio, Pennsylvania, western New York and southern Ontario on December 10, 2016. Snow on the ground can be seen in parts of New England and southern Canada. Cloud cover ahead of Winter Storm Caly can be seen in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana.

(NASA/Terra/MODIS)

At a Glance

An arctic air mass overtook the Great Lakes region in early to mid December.The air is more than cold enough to produce lake-effect snow.Localized squalls dumped significant accumulations downwind of the lakes.

The lake-effect snow machine was in full blast in early December thanks to an arctic air mass that invaded the Lower-48. Some areas saw total accumulations of a foot or more, with snowfall rates exceeding an inch per hour at times. Some locations saw as much as three feet of snow!

Lake-effect snow appears to have been a contributing factor in a deadly multi-car pileup on I-96 in Lower Michigan on December 8 along with numerous other pileups in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

(MORE:)

with a lake-effect snow band east of Lake Erie in Warsaw, New York, on the morning of December 8th. Four inches of snow was reported in one hour early Thursday afternoon to the southeast of Lake Erie in Perrysburg, New York, where nearly two and a half feet of snow piled up.

In Perrysburg, New York, snowfall rates topped four inches per hour on December 8 where 30 inches of snow was reported through December 10th.

In Michigan, nearly two feet of snow fell in some spots.

Storm Reports

Greatest snow reports in each state as of 6 a.m. EST Saturday.

Some other notable snowfall reports as of 6 p.m. EST, December 10:

Springville, New York: 36.0 inchesEast Concord, New York: 33.0 inchesPerrysburg, New York: 30.0 inchesSundell, Michigan: 24.0 inchesNear Jamestown, New York: 22.3 inchesKalkaska, Michigan: 22 inchesCalumet, Michigan: 18.0 inchesWilloughby, Ohio: 17.5 inchesEben Junction, Michigan 16.2 inchesWarren, Pennsylvania: 16.0 inchesIronwood, Michigan: 15.8 inchesNear Cleveland, Ohio: 12.2 inchesWinchester, Wisconsin: 11.0 inchesNear Iron River, Wisconsin: 10.8 inches

These snowfall totals do not include snowfall from Winter Storm Caly, which was approaching the region on December 10th.

(MORE: )

Lake-Effect Snow Setup

An upper-level low-pressure system set up shop in southern Canada, spinning bitterly cold west to northwest winds over the relatively warmer Great Lakes.

For lake-effect snow to develop, the air temperature about 5,000 feet above the surface must be at least 23 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius) colder than the lake temperature.

The temperatures of the Great Lakes was in the40s for the first part of December, and this arctic air mass is more than cold enough to irritate the mild lakes.

In fact,, according to NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

The cold, dry air picked up moisture and heat from the lakes, dumping snow downwind of the lakes.

(MORE:)

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Winter Storm Argos

People dig out plowed-in cars in Syracuse, NY., Monday, Nov.21, 2016, after Syracuse's first snowstorm of the season belted the area. At least ten inches covered the area along with high winds. (Dennis Nett/The Syracuse Newspapers via AP)