How come no major winterstorms hit Michigan/Ontario?

[conestogo_flood]

What I have really come to notice is a major winter storm in the Michigan/southern Ontario region is one that drops 5 or so inches of snow. How come nothing huge hits around here? Is the geographic location a problem? Even in the Blizzard of 78' the cities around here only received about 10 inches of snow, and I am level with Buffalo, New York. Maybe they just aren't that common, but it seems over the past few years nothing is hitting here. I do recall the winter of 1998 into 1999 when we had multiple snowstorms in total dropped about 15 inches of snow over a few week period. Lame!

[yzerfan]

The big winter storms in that region tend to be lake effect snow, and how much snow you get in a season is driven by which side of the Lake you're on, relative to normal prevailing winds. So Buffalo, NY and the west coast of Michigan get impressive amounts of snow because they're normally downwind of the Lakes. Toronto and eastern Wisconsin, not nearly so much.

[conestogo_flood]

Within about 40 kilometers of Lake Huron shoreline and Georgian Bay receive impressive snowfall amounts as well from lake effect snow. I am in the Waterloo Regional about 60 to 70 kilometers from Lake Huron. We get the odd band. Toronto, snowsqualls usually never hit there. North of Toronto around Lake Simcoe and east in the York-Durham Regionals and Prince Edward County there is often snowsqualls if the winds pick up, they come off Lake Ontario. Also, on the north shore of Lake Erie in the Town of Haldimand County and the Niagara Regional, they receive the odd snowsquall from Erie.

[ohiostorm]

Most major snowstorms come from the east coast and nor easters. You guys r too far west and north for those.