BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — In the inaugural edition of "Josh's Weather Academy," where we answer your weather questions and provide explanations about all matter meteorological, we look at what causes a lake breeze.
The answer may be a bit more complicated than you think. It's not just the temperature of both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario that creates our famous lake breeze. If it wasn't for the sun there wouldn't be a lake breeze at all, here is why.
The sun heats the ground and the lake during the day but the heating is uneven as it takes a lot more radiant energy from the sun to heat the water than it does to heat the land. So, the land heats quicker than the water does. This heat capacity is known as specific heat.
As the sun heats the ground, the ground heats the atmosphere as the air rises and because we don't live in a vacuum the rising air over land must be replaced. The difference in air pressure between the land, which is lower than it would be over the water, drives the air from water to land because air always flows from higher pressure to lower pressure.
The stronger the difference in temperature between the water and the land, the stronger our cooling afternoon lake breeze is along the immediate lakeshore. That in a nutshell is how a lake breeze forms.
Have a weather question that needs answering? Email josh.nichols@wkbw.com and your question could be answered.
