OWLeS

OWLeS. The Ontario Winter Lake-effect Systems project was a major collaborative field campaign focused on intensively observing the complex dynamics of lake-effect snowstorms downwind of Lake Ontario. Organized by a consortium of universities and federal laboratories, the project deployed a sophisticated array of ground-based, airborne, and mobile instrumentation during the winters of 2013–2014. Its primary goal was to improve the understanding and prediction of these high-impact weather events, which frequently produce intense, localized snowfall with significant societal effects across the Northeastern United States and parts of Canada.

Overview

The OWLeS project was conceived to address critical gaps in the scientific understanding of lake-effect snowstorms, particularly those generated by the long fetch of Lake Ontario. Principal investigators from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Wyoming led the effort, with crucial support from the National Center for Atmospheric Research and funding from the National Science Foundation. The field phase was strategically timed for the peak lake-effect season, with intensive observation periods from December 2013 through January 2014. Operations were centered on the eastern and southern shorelines of Lake Ontario, encompassing regions of New York like the Tug Hill Plateau, which is renowned for some of the heaviest seasonal snowfalls in the United States.

Scientific objectives and design

The core scientific objectives of OWLeS were multifaceted, targeting the internal structure and environmental controls of lake-effect systems. A primary aim was to investigate the role of mesoscale convective systems and their associated bands, including long-lake-axis parallel snowbands that organize over the length of Lake Ontario. The project design also sought to quantify the influences of lake-induced circulations, boundary layer processes, and complex terrain interactions, particularly with the Tug Hill Plateau and the Appalachian Mountains. To achieve this, the campaign employed a unique multi-platform strategy, integrating data from the University of Wyoming King Air research aircraft, multiple Doppler radar systems including the NOAA XPOL radars, and a dense network of rawinsonde launch sites and surface meteorological stations.

Key findings and impact

Research stemming from OWLeS data has yielded several key findings that have reshaped understanding of lake-effect meteorology. Studies revealed new details about the vertical structure and precipitation efficiency of long-lake-axis parallel snowbands, highlighting the importance of secondary circulations and shear instability. The project provided unprecedented observations of the inland intensification of snowfall over the Tug Hill Plateau, challenging previous assumptions about the rapid decay of lake-effect storms after landfall. These insights have directly impacted the development and evaluation of high-resolution numerical weather prediction models, such as those used by the National Weather Service and the Weather Research and Forecasting model community, leading to improved forecast accuracy for snowband placement and intensity.

Field campaign and operations

The OWLeS field campaign was a logistically complex endeavor involving over 50 scientists, students, and technicians. Operations were coordinated from a base at the State University of New York at Oswego. The University of Wyoming King Air conducted numerous flights, sampling the inflow, cloud structure, and snowfall regions of storms. Simultaneously, mobile radar teams from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Center for Severe Weather Research deployed instruments to capture fine-scale wind and reflectivity patterns. A critical component was the deployment of five rawinsonde systems, which provided high-temporal-resolution vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, and wind from sites like Kingston, Ontario and North Redfield, New York, to document the evolving atmospheric environment.

Data and legacy

The OWLeS project generated a vast, high-quality dataset that has become a cornerstone for ongoing research in mesoscale meteorology and winter weather. All data were archived and made publicly available through repositories like the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Earth Observing Laboratory. The legacy of OWLeS extends beyond its immediate findings, having trained a generation of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in field research techniques. Its observational frameworks have influenced subsequent campaigns, such as those studying lake-effect snow over the Great Salt Lake and Lake Michigan. The work continues to inform operational forecasting practices at the National Weather Service offices in Buffalo, New York and Burlington, Vermont, enhancing public safety during severe winter weather events.

Category:Meteorological research projects Category:Atmospheric science Category:Great Lakes