The role of lake effect snowstorms in the hydrology of the Lake Erie basin is estimated by using climatological data. By comparing monthly snowfall over areas affected by lake effect storms off Lake Erie and Lake Huron/Georgian Bay with a nearby nonaffected area, it was possible to isolate the contribution from frontal storm systems (including their augmentation due to orography) and from lake effect storm activity. These latter storms were found to contribute only 6% of the mean seasonal snowfall over the entire basin. For the snow belt southeast of Lake Erie, lake effect snowstorms provided less than 20% of the total seasonal snowfall. This percentage is low in comparison with other Great Lake snow belts because of the diminished storm activity resulting from the freezing over of Lake Erie by midwinter. The water equivalent of all snowfall over the Lake Erie basin is equivalent to a 1.07‐foot depth over the Lake Erie area. Only 0.06 foot of this depth results from lake effect snowstorm activit