Air 1 Lake Effect Snow Storm!

[shawnski451]

We had a pretty significant lake effect snow event yesterday (12/31/25) here in West Seneca NY. I decided to put my "old reliable" Mavic Air (2018) in the air and let it take a rip around my neighborhood. I wrote a Litchi way point program on my computer... Speed 15mph at 150ft altitude. I shot at 2.7k@60fps. The reason I shot at 2.7k@60 is that its visually smoother to watch vs 4k@30. I hope you all enjoy this. Youtube likes to drop the quality for a some reason so please crank up the video quality before you play the video.

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[GFields]

Awesome video............. but brrrrr

 

[shawnski451]

Awesome video............. but brrrrr

Yeah only 20°F that day.

 

[a2tomm]

We had a pretty significant lake effect snow event yesterday (12/31/25) here in West Seneca NY. I decided to put my "old reliable" Mavic Air (2018) in the air and let it take a rip around my neighborhood. I wrote a Litchi way point program on my computer... Speed 15mph at 150ft altitude. I shot at 2.7k@60fps. The reason I shot at 2.7k@60 is that its visually smoother to watch vs 4k@30. I hope you all enjoy this. Youtube likes to drop the quality for a some reason so please crank up the video quality before you play the video.

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Let it snow baby !

 

[KAOS Imagery]

I see the snow totals you folks get out that way and can't believe what it's like get multiple feet of snow all the time. It's bad enough for me here near Saratoga...but then, I am becoming a cranky old guy, LOL. Nice footage, the Air seemed to handle the wind just fine.

 

[Geofff]

We had a pretty significant lake effect snow event yesterday (12/31/25) here in West Seneca NY. I decided to put my "old reliable" Mavic Air (2018) in the air and let it take a rip around my neighborhood. I wrote a Litchi way point program on my computer... Speed 15mph at 150ft altitude. I shot at 2.7k@60fps. The reason I shot at 2.7k@60 is that its visually smoother to watch vs 4k@30. I hope you all enjoy this. Youtube likes to drop the quality for a some reason so please crank up the video quality before you play the video.

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Wow. My eyes nearly froze over watching that . Great job. I hope your trusty air survived ok.

 

[kiwineill]

Its amazing that the falling snow didn't effect the drones motors.
Was your drone "water proofed"?.

 

[Bad Santa]

I would have been afraid to take a drone up in that snow.
Looks like it was a little chilly.

 

[shawnski451]

Wow. My eyes nearly froze over watching that . Great job. I hope your trusty air survived ok.

Yeah, it's fine... The glitching at the end is just some video editing trickery I added in for dramatic effect.

 

[shawnski451]

Its amazing that the falling snow didn't effect the drones motors.
Was your drone "water proofed"?.

No, its not waterproofed at all. I fly my Spark and Mavic Air1 in snow events all the time with never an issue. (I added the static into the video to throw in some effect.). While I'd never fly in a full on rain storm, the Spark and Mavic handle the snow just fine.

 

[shawnski451]

I would have been afraid to take a drone up in that snow.
Looks like it was a little chilly.

Don't be afraid to fly them. They're very tough and can handle the cold weather just fine. One thing to consider... cold batteries don't last long, so keep batteries warm before flying.

 

[kiwineill]

Like the comments above - it's amazing to see the drone flying in that amount of snow.
We live in a very temperate climate with only 2 or 3 frosts a year. We get lots of wind & rain which adds up to quite a few no fly days.
Great footage

 

[Sky Wombat]

Nope shawnski451 unless I can fly that from the comfort of a heated living room I am more than happy to leave it to you.
I liked the footage and good to see how well the Air handled it. I'm glad you clarified the static at the end or we'd all be chipping in to buy you a new one. So a few more clips wouldn't hurt.

 

[AMann]

I’d be careful doing that, especially if you can see mist in the air and the temperature is at or below freezing or even slightly above it - iced props have brought down other member’s drones before.

 

[Sky Wombat]

I’d be careful doing that, especially if you can see mist in the air and the temperature is at or below freezing or even slightly above it - iced props have brought down other member’s drones before.

There was member a couple of years ago who posted a winter blizzard storm flight over, I think, the Great Lakes. Great video but definitely underwear changing experience.