Editing Lake Erie (section)

===Climate===

====Lake Erie in winter====
[[File:LakeEffectSnow.png|thumb|right|Cold air travels over warm lake water. The air becomes warmer, moister, less dense, so that it rises; when it passes over land, the reduced airspace causes the air to "pile up" resulting in "frictional convergence." This lifts the air even further to where it cools, turning into droplets or snowflakes. The result is enhanced snowfall.<ref name=twsJanY313b/>]]
[[File:LakeErie-1.jpg|thumb|right|Lake Erie in winter]]
Like the other Great Lakes, Erie produces [[lake-effect snow]] when the first cold winds of winter pass over the warm waters. When the temperatures of the relatively warm surface water and the colder air separate to at least {{convert|18|F-change}} to {{convert|23|F-change}} apart,<!-- It's a difference of temperatures, not an actual temperature of the lake or air themselves --> then "lake-effect snow becomes possible:"<ref name=twsJanY313b />

{{blockquote|As cold air flows over the warm water, the lake warms and moistens the air. Since warm, moist air is less dense than cold air, the heated air rises. Rising air cools and water vapor condenses into cloud droplets ... the efficiency of snow production increases when the wind pushes the clouds over land. Friction with the ground causes air to pile up. This frictional convergence creates lift and enhances snowfall.|Bob Swanson and Adrienne Lewis of ''[[USA Today]]'', 2008<ref name=twsJanY313b/>}}

Heavy lake-effect snowfalls can occur when cold air travels {{convert|60|mi}} or longer over a large unfrozen lake.<ref name=twsJanY313b/> Lake-effect snow makes Buffalo and Erie the eleventh and thirteenth snowiest cities in the entire United States respectively, according to data collected from the [[National Climatic Data Center]].<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/2003-10-01-snowiest-cities_x.htm Answers: 10 snowiest 'cities' aren't all in New York] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012221017/http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/2003-10-01-snowiest-cities_x.htm |date=October 12, 2011 }}. Also creating the [[snow belt]] from [[Cleveland]] to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]. Chris Cappella, ''USATODAY.com.''</ref> Since winds blow primarily west to east along the main axis of the lake, lake-effect snowstorms are more pronounced on the eastern parts of the lake. Buffalo typically gets {{convert|95|in|cm}} of snow each winter and sometimes {{convert|10|ft|m|spell=in}} of snow;<ref name=twsJanY313a /> the snowiest city is [[Syracuse, New York]], which can receive heavy snowfall from both the lake effect process and large coastal cyclones. A storm around Christmas in 2001 pounded Buffalo with {{convert|7|ft}} of snow.<ref name=twsJanY111 />

[[File:Frozen Lake Erie.jpg|thumb|right|Lake Erie in winter]]
The effects of the warmer lake water is reduced when the lake freezes over.<ref name="twsX36" /> In January 2011, for example, residents of Cleveland were glad when Lake Erie was "90 percent frozen" since it meant that the area had "made it over the hump" in terms of enduring repeated snowfalls which required much shoveling.<ref name=twsX211 /> Being the shallowest of the Great Lakes, it is the most likely to freeze and frequently does.<ref name="Straight Dope" /> In contrast, [[Lake Michigan]] has never completely frozen over since the warmer and deeper portion is in the south, although it came close to being totally frozen during three harsh winters over the past century.<ref name=twsX35 /> In past years, lake ice was so thick that it was possible to drive over it or go sailing on [[iceboat]]s.<ref name=twsX312a/> Many lake residents take advantage of the ice and travel; some drive to Canada and back:<ref name=twsJanY114/>

{{blockquote|The first ice usually forms in late November, and by January it locks into place. For islanders in the Western Basin, it is the equivalent of summer vacation ... Once the lake freezes, islanders organize impromptu ice rallies. Families gather to drink hot wine and race all-terrain vehicles across the lake. They also race [[Ice boat|iceboats]], which resemble sailboats on skates ... Many people drive to other islands for dinner with friends. They ride in cars with the roofs and doors chopped off so they can escape if the vehicles fall through the ice. Islanders stab evergreen trees into the ice every {{convert|50|yard|disp=sqbr}} to mark a route ... Even in the coldest winters, there are dangerous patches of thin ice. The cracks are so predictable that the Put-in-Bay Ice Yacht Club prints them on a map ... On a normal winter day, the ice is dotted with 2,000 fishing shanties.|Christopher Maag in ''[[The New York Times]]'', 2004<ref name=twsJanY114/>}}

====Windy conditions====
Strong winds have caused lake currents to shift sediment on the bottom, leading to shifting [[Shoal|sandbars]] that have been the cause of shipwrecks.<ref name=twsX312a/> But winds can have a peaceful purpose as well; there have been proposals to place electricity–producing [[wind turbine]]s in windy and shallow points in the lake and along the coast. [[Steel Winds]], a former steel mill site in Buffalo, has been developed as an urban wind farm housing 14 turbines capable of generating up to 35 megawatts of electricity.<ref>{{cite news|last=Robinson |first=David |title=Megawatts up at Steel Winds |url=http://www.buffalonews.com/business/local-business/article736169.ece |access-date=July 8, 2012 |newspaper=The Buffalo News |date=February 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223023415/http://www.buffalonews.com/business/local-business/article736169.ece |archive-date=February 23, 2012 }}</ref> A plan by [[Samsung Corporation|Samsung]] to build an offshore [[wind farm]] on the north shore of the lake, from [[Port Maitland, Ontario|Port Maitland]] to [[Nanticoke, Ontario|Nanticoke]] for a distance of {{convert|15.5|mi|km|abbr=on}},<ref name=twsJanY113 /> has been met with opposition from residents. Canadians near [[Leamington, Ontario|Leamington]] and [[Kingsville, Ontario|Kingsville]] have organized protest groups to thwart attempts to bring wind turbines to the lake; reasons against the turbines include spoiling lake views.<ref name=twsZ24 /> Plans to install turbines in Pigeon Bay, south of [[Leamington, Ontario|Leamington]] were met with opposition as well.<ref name=twsZ56 /><ref name=twsZ55 /> The notion that bird and bat migration may be hurt by the wind turbines has been used to argue against the wind turbines as well.

====Microclimates====
The lake is responsible for [[microclimate]]s that are important to agriculture. Along its north shore is one of the richest areas of Canada's fruit and vegetable production; this southernmost tip, particularly in the area around Leamington, is known as Canada's "tomato capital".<ref name=twsZ24/> The area around [[Port Rowan, Ontario|Port Rowan]] has special trees that grow because of the "tempering effect of the lake", and species include [[Liriodendron|tulip trees]], [[Cornus|dogwood]], [[sassafras]], and [[Nyssa sylvatica|sour gum]].<ref name=twsX18/> This area's many greenhouses produce a "variety of tropical plants rarely cultivated so far north", including some species of cacti, because of the lake's tempering effect.<ref name=twsX18/> Along the southeastern shore of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York is an important [[grape]]-growing region, as are the islands in the lake. [[Apple]] orchards are abundant in northeast Ohio to western New York.

====Long-term weather patterns====
According to one estimate, {{convert|34|to|36|inch}} of water evaporate each year from the surface of the lake,<ref name="StateofOhio"/> which allows for rainfall and other precipitation in surrounding areas. Reports are conflicting about the overall effect of [[global warming]] on the Great Lakes region, including Lake Erie. One account suggests that climate change is causing greater [[evaporation]] of lake water, leading to warmer temperatures, as well as thinner or nonexistent ice in winter, which is fueling concerns that "Erie appears to be shrinking" and is the most likely candidate among the five Great Lakes to "turn into a festering mud puddle."<ref name=twsX312a/> In 2010, the ''[[Windsor Star]]'' reported that the lake experienced record-breaking water temperatures, reaching {{convert|81|°F|°C|abbr=on}} in mid-August and compared the lake to a "bath tub".<ref name=twsZ27 />