time of the main rainfall maximum in Florida. During the late summer and fall, tropical cyclones move into the region from the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, supplying portions of the area with one-quarter of their annual rainfall, on average. Fall is the time of the rainfall minimum across Louisiana. Sometimes, Gulf moisture sneaks up the Front Range of Rockies as far north as the northern High Plains, bringing higher dewpoint air into states such as Wyoming and Montana. Great Lakes Overall, late spring and early summer is the wettest time of year for the western portion of the region, with a winter minimum in precipitation. This is due to warm, moist, and unstable air moving along the jet stream where it is centralized. Which brings precipitation along the westerlies. In contrast, eastern portions of the regions have two precipitation maximums, one during spring, and again in November. While July and August are the driest months in the region. The reason being that this region is further away from the unstable air of the central U.S and has more moderators to the climate. Due to the fact that storms and winds generally move west to east, the winds that blow from the Great Lakes during the summer keep the area more stable. With thunderstorms generally being less common. Cold season Extratropical cyclones can bring moderate to heavy snowfall during the cold season. On the backside of these systems, particularly those moving through the eastern United States, lake effect snowfall is possible. Low level cold in the winter sweeping in from Canada combine with relatively warmer, unfrozen lakes to produce dramatic lake-effect snow on the eastern and southern shores of the Great Lakes. Lake-effect precipitation produces a significant difference between the snowfall around the Great Lakes, sometimes within small distances. Lake effect snowfall accounts for 30 to 60 percent of the annual snowfall near the coasts of the Great Lakes. Lake Erie has the distinction of being the only great lake capable of completely freezing over during the winter due to its relative shallowness. Once frozen, the resulting ice cover alleviates lake-effect snow downwind of the lake. The influence of the Great Lakes allows the region to lie within a Humid Continental Climate regime. Although certain scientists have argued that the eastern third resemble more of an oceanic climate Warm season Weather systems in the westerlies that cause precipitation move along