Effect of Lake Okeechobee on South Florida Cold Snaps

[gatorcane]

I was wondering what effect (if any) the big lake has on moderating the cold for South Florida especially Palm Beach County

If the winds are blowing NW over the lake, that would mean alot of Palm Beach and Broward Counties should be shielded from the cold as the lake is over 75+ miles long from NW to SE. Average lake temps are still in the 70s.

Am I missing something?

[Patrick99]

Something I never thought of...wish someone in the know would respond. I know the Great Salt Lake has an effect on the SLC area weather.....why don't we see "lake effect" clouds in South Florida whenever cold air blows over the warm waters of the Big O?

[AJC3]

Something I never thought of...wish someone in the know would respond. I know the Great Salt Lake has an effect on the SLC area weather.....why don't we see "lake effect" clouds in South Florida whenever cold air blows over the warm waters of the Big O?

It does occur, but it's not nearly as common as lake effect clouds and precip which occurs downwind of the Great Lakes. As you are well aware, what is needed is advection of cold air over warmer water, with a sufficient temperature difference between the near-surface air over the Lake, and the cold air that is being advected in aloft. Other factors are important such as sufficient fetch length (distance of air travelling over the water) as well as a fairly uniform direction in the 0-2KM wind flow over that fetch length.

Conditions favorable for generation of CU plumes don't occur nearly as often over Lake Okee as they do up north. Obviously, the main reason is that there are infrequent intrusions of modified arctic air into south Florida. But the other important factor to consider is that that there is a HUGE difference between the depth of Lake Okee and even the shallowest of the Great Lakes (Erie). The Lake Okee water temperature cools pretty rapidly in the lake fall and winter. Assuming and equally cold outbreak, the earlier it occurs in the winter, the better the chance of a plume forming off the lake. This would be particularly the case if you have a warm fall/early winter - or at the very least, a warm few weeks before the cold outbreak.

Who knows...you may wind up seeing a plume during this event.

[jasons2k]

Another factor is elevation. When NW winds blow across the Great Lakes, after the winds hit the southern shoreline, the hills/elevation aid to advect the warmer air upward; it is lifted by the topography. With Lake Okeechobee, there is no elevation change, and the temperature difference alone usually isn't enough for it to advect much.