SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Meteorologists expect somewhere between five to nine inches of snow to come down in Syracuse from Tuesday to Thursday.
Typically, residents say they’ll see around four big snows by November, but this year has been different. This is the first winter storm of the cold season in Syracuse, and it ends what has been an unusually snow-less Thanksgiving time in the area.
However, geographer Peng Gao says the lake effect snow is actually predictable. The lake effect causes wind to travel from North to South and creates conditions conducive of snowfall.
“This is the kind of air circulation that could be affected by climate change, that has been affected, that will be affected,” Gao said.
Gao says massive storm events like the one Syracuse will soon face are natural and help balance the effects of climate change. As temperatures continue to increase worldwide, snow turns to rain and creates elevated water levels.
“We tend to see less snow because the air temperatures tend to be high,” Gao said.
Climate change will continue to influence the global environment, but although it’s just the first snow of the winter in Syracuse, there won’t be a dearth of snowstorms to come.
