Five weeks before Christmas a freezing Arctic air mass has dumped huge amounts of snow on upstate New York, paralyzing traffic across the region.

The Arctic air mass moved south into the U.S. last week. As the cold air travels across the Great Lakes it generates a phenomenon known as a lake-effect storm.

The large bodies of water maintain heat from the summer. As the frigid winds blow across the huge warm surfaces of the lakes, they draw warmth and moisture from the water. When the air hits the shore it is forced up, where the excess moisture falls as snow.

The snowstorm brought up to six feet of snow in some areas, trapping more than 100 vehicles on highways through Wednesday.

Some 132 miles of Interstate 90 across New York State have been closed as snowplows can’t clear the road due to the stranded vehicles.

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