The areas that Lake effect snow usually occurs are the places such as Traverse City, Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, South Bend, and Elkhart.
Those places are prone to experience some major and often disruptive lake effect snowstorms that are very bad most times.
Lake Effect Snow occurs when cold air, often originating from Canada, moves across the open waters of the Great Lakes.
When the cold air passes over the unfrozen and relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes the warmth and moisture are transferred into the lowest portion of the atmosphere.
That leads to the severe event of Lake Effect Snow.