On the mesoscale, Syracuse, NY’s climate is affected by its close proximity to the Great Lakes, specifically Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior; the latter two of the lakes are not as close, yet they still affect the climate by participating in lake effect snow. On the microscale, Syracuse is surrounded by a combination of flat plains and rolling hills and the rolling hills contribute to the local climate due to cold air draining and ponding in the depressions. 

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Syracuse Climograph; source: syracuse.climatetemps.com

Shown below is a graph depicting the minimum and maximum average temperatures for the months of January and July from the year 1983 through 2013; trend lines are also present. This graph shows that the average temperatures over the 30 year period have not changed much, but possibly have decreased by a few degrees, if any. 

Graph created by Stacey Lyon-Cronk using Microsoft Excel. Data from weather-warehouse.com

 

For this blog, I compared Syracuse to Albuquerque, New Mexico; there are both similarities and differences between the two in regards to climate. To start, Syracuse is located on the eastern part of the contiguous United States (76̊ West) while Albuquerque is located on the western side (106̊ West) and Albuquerque happens to fall about eight degrees farther south than Syracuse; 35̊ N and 43̊ N, respectively. As for the air masses that affect each area, Albuquerque experiences the maritime tropical and continental tropical air masses in the summer, as does Syracuse. The difference in the air masses during the summer would be that the maritime tropical air mass that affects Syracuse comes from the Gulf of Mexico and travels north; the maritime tropical air mass that affects Albuquerque originates in the Pacific Ocean, southwest of the coast of the United States. Both locations experience warm and cold fronts throughout the year. One difference between the two cities is that Albuquerque is typically a drier climate as it is on the eastern side of mountains and highlands, leaving it to fall in a rainshadow. This means that as the air from the western side of the mountain is being orographically lifted, the pressure on the air mass increases as the mass moves up the mountain side and the water in the air mass is essentially squeezed out, leaving a dry air mass that falls down the eastern side of the mountain. Alternately, Syracuse is located on a relatively flat area surrounded by plains and rolling hills, which means there are no mountains to create the rainshadow effect. Syracuse is also situated relatively close to the Great Lakes that aids in precipitation throughout the year, which also creates a difference between the two locations. Due to the fact that Albuquerque is in the rainshadow and is receiving dry air throughout most of the year, the precipitation levels are low in the winter with a peak in the summer months of July and August due to the North American monsoon season. Syracuse receives an almost even distribution of precipitation throughout the year due to its proximity to the great lakes, but the highest precipitation levels of the year are typically received during the months of July (the same as Albuquerque) and September. 

Albuquerque, NM; drier than Syracuse. photonewmexico.biz

Syracuse, NY; lush and green. city-data.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather in Syracuse, New York during the winter is affected by two different air masses; the continental polar air mass from the north and the maritime polar air mass from the south. These two air masses account for the cold, humid climate in Syracuse, and the continental polar air mass is responsible for the “Lake Effect Snow” occurrence, which is discussed later. The continental polar masses originate from the north and bring dry, cold air and the maritime polar masses come from the northeast bringing moist, cold air. The summer months are affected by the maritime tropical and continental tropical air masses which provide the warm, humid summer trends.  The maritime tropical masses bring moist, warm air from the Gulf and the continental tropical masses bring dry, warm air from the southern Mexico region.

www.kidsgeo.com

Central New York typically experiences both warm and cold fronts throughout the entire year, with the cold fronts being responsible for both precipitation in the form of rain in the summer and snow in the winter, as well as dry, cold weather. The warm fronts throughout the year vary in the amount of precipitation brought as well, and the underlying factor as to whether or not the front brings moisture is dependent upon where it originates from, as noted above.  

As for the current weather in Syracuse, there is a warm front moving into the area that is taking effect on the 12^th and 13^th of April. This front will bring rain, thunderstorms due to the warm and cold fronts coming together, and most likely wind, but temperatures will be warmer than the area has been experiencing recently, and quite possibly record highs. Once this warm front has passed however, a cold front is in the forecast which will bring rain and possibly snow. 

The cold front forecast to move through after the warm front has passed. AccuWeather.com

AccuWeather.com

One factor that can be considered unique to Syracuse is that of “Lake Effect Snow”, which also occurs in other parts of the United States, such as the Salt Lake City area, or any other area with a large body of water that contributes to large amounts of snowfall. Central New York receives its lake effect snow from the Great Lakes; most commonly Lake Ontario, but sometimes from Lake Huron or Superior. Lake effect snow occurs during the wintertime when a cold air mass travels over a warmer body of water, which can be any body of water, such as a lake or an ocean. When the cold air mass travels over the warm water, the lower layer of cold air is heated by the warmth of the warmer body of water which then causes the moisture to evaporate into the cold air. Once the moisture has evaporated, it rises and then cools to form clouds which eventually form snow and then fall. This phenomenon typically produces large quantities of snow.

Lake Effect Snow imagery; theweatherprediction.com

blog.syracuse.com

 Information gathered from:

www.syracuse.com

www.centralny.twcnews.com

www.NOAA.gov/