Feet of snow expected across Great Lakes, Northeast
FOX Weather Winter Storm Specialist Tom Niziol breaks down the latest on continued lake-effect snow that is set to pummel parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast.
BUFFALO, NY – A blizzard that pummeled the Midwest last week has moved out of the region, but attention now turns to heavy, lake-effect snow that could bury parts of the Great Lakes region and Northeast in feet of snow over the next few days.
The FOX Forecast Center says that because the Great Lakes remain free of ice and water temperatures remain well above freezing, significant bands of snow will develop and lead to dangerous travel conditions across the region.
Winds are also expected to gust upwards of 50 mph in some areas, which could lead to power outages.
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Snow Squall Warnings for New York, Pennsylvania
The lake-effect snow machine gets cranking on Sunday, and conditions have started to deteriorate across portions of Pennsylvania and New York. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued several Snow Squall Warnings in both states as heavy bands of snow sweep across the region.
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“Snow Squall Warnings have been issued for brief whiteout conditions and slippery roads impacting portions of I-80 between Clearfield and Grove City,” the NWS office in State College, Pennsylvania, said on Xformerly Twitter. “The squalls are moving east. We strongly advise staying off the interstate as Snow Squall Warnings are in effect.”
The lake-effect snow and dangerous travel conditions are expected to continue throughout the day on Sunday and will increase in intensity.
The FOX Forecast Center warns that near-blizzard conditions and zero visibility are likely as the heavy bands of lake-effect snow sweep across the region.
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Buffalo, Watertown could pick up feet of snow
Forecast snow totals in New York.
The most snow is expected to fall in the Buffalo and Watertown areas in New York state through Tuesday morning.
Those continuous snow bands will likely start to develop during the day and into Sunday evening and will create a firehose effect and drop feet of snow, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
The long-lasting snow bands will drop the highest snow totals over a small area, and each of the snow bands will drift to the north and south throughout the duration of the event.
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Watch: Whiteout conditions due to snow, wind in New York state
Video recorded in Cheektowaga, New York, shows whiteout conditions due to heavy snow and wind. Portions of the Great Lakes region, including Buffalo and Watertown, could pick up feet of snow due to relentless bands of lake-effect snow.
The FOX Forecast Center says it’s difficult to pinpoint where the snow bands will move, and a city like Buffalo could experience multiple waves of heavy snow.
“Near blizzard conditions and zero visibility are possible as snow bands oscillate back and forth, impacting different locations,” the FOX Forecast Center warned.
However, feet of snow could fall in the Buffalo and Watertown areas by the time conditions improve in a few days.
Winter Weather Alerts in effect through Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. (FOX Weather)
Because of the conditions, the National Weather Service issued several winter weather alerts, including Winter Storm Warnings for the Buffalo and Watertown areas.
Elsewhere, portions of New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois are under a Winter Weather Advisory.
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Forecast wind gusts in the Great Lakes region. (FOX Weather)
The FOX Forecast Center says strong winds gusting to between 40 and 50 mph are also expected in portions of the Great Lakes region and Northeast.
That could lead to blowing snow as well as some power outages.
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Travel ban issued, NFL game postponed
Blizzard conditions likely near Buffalo, New York
FOX Weather Correspondent Katie Byrne is in Hamburg, New York, where Winter Storm Warnings remain in effect as the region prepares for feet of snow. And because of the dangerous driving conditions, travel bans have been put into effect.
Crews in New York were out in full force to pretreat roads for the incoming winter weather conditions.
FOX Weather Correspondent Katie Byrne was in Hamburg, New York, on Sunday morning, and conditions there were changing rapidly from experiencing calm conditions to sudden, heavy snowfall.
Because of the conditions, a travel ban was put into place across Erie County in New York.
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Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz described conditions in the area as “rough.”
“For those of you who are wondering why there may be a driving ban, I’m in the town of Cheektowaga,” he said in a video posted to X. “It’s rough. It’s pretty bad out here. You can’t really see more than in the front of the hood of your car.”
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Whiteout conditions are expected in parts of the region as the lake-effect snow continues on Sunday.
“The travel ban went into effect around 9 p.m. (Saturday night), and you can see what these plow truck drivers were up against,” Byrne said, “Very, very dangerous conditions, whiteout conditions at times.”
PITTSBURGH STEELERS, BUFFALO BILLS GAME POSTPONED DUE TO HEAVY SNOW THREAT
NFL playoffs wild card game postponed due to heavy snow threat
New York authorities announced on Saturday that they would attempt to play the Steelers-Bills game on Monday due to heavy snow expected in the Buffalo area on Sunday.
On Saturday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the NFL playoff game between the Pittsburg Steelers and the Buffalo Bills was postponed to Monday at the earliest.
“The decision to move the game to Monday was made in consultation with New York Governor Kathy Hochul in the best interest of public safety, and with the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the region prepares for the storm,” the NFL said in a statement.
“Of course, for our Bills Mafia viewers, the Bills are actually looking for people to help them shovel out Highmark Stadium today,” Byrne continued. “Today you’re going to get paid $20 an hour if you can do it. There’s going to be free food, but it’s ‘BYOS,’ bring your own shovel.”
A similar threat of heavy snowfall in 2022 forced a regular season game between the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills to be moved to Ford Field in Detroit.
2024-01-14 16:47:00
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