The National Weather Service has issued a series of Lake Effect Snow Warnings calling for wide bands of Lake Effect snow to fall across Western New York, in some cases at the rate of 3 inches an hour through Saturday night.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has declared a state of Emergency for Western New York beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday.
The New York State Thruway will be closed to commercial traffic only between The Pennsylvania state border and Rochester, beginning Thursday at 4 p.m.
THE LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNINGS
Beginning Wednesday night at 7 p.m. until 1 a.m. Saturday
Southern Erie County-Including the cities of Orchard Park and Springville
- Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 feet in the most persistent lake snows.
- Winds gusting as high as 35 mph will produce patchy blowing snow.
Beginning Wednesday night at 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. Thursday Night
Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties- including the cities of Jamestown and Olean
- Heavy lake effect snow expected.
- The heaviest snow will occur Wednesday t through Thursday morning from the Chautauqua Ridge
- into northern Cattaraugus county.
- Total snow accumulations of 7 to 14 inches in the most persistent lake snows.
Beginning 7 p.m. Thursday until 1 p.m. Sunday
Northern Erie County and Genesee County, including Buffalo and Batavia
- Heavy lake effect snow expected.
- Total snow accumulations of 2 to 3 feet in the most persistent lake snows.
- The heaviest snow is expected late Thursday evening through Friday night when snowfall rates could exceed 3 inches per hour.
- Snowfall totals of up to 4 feet will be possible if the main snow band remains stationary for longer period of time.
- Winds gusting as high as 35 mph with produce patchy blowing snow.
The National Weather Service has forecast snowfall rates of over 3 inches an hour Thursday evening through Friday night. If you are in a Lake Effect snow band- they say there could be totals up to 4 feet of snow before the syttem moves away on Saturday evening.
Hochul said the ban on truck traffic could be expanded if conditions warrant.
"The commercial traffic is more related to trying to prevent the situation we saw a number of years ago, where you had a jackknifed trailer shut down the Thruway for dozens of miles. People were paralyzed, stuck there for days. That's why we're closing to commercial traffic," Hochul said.
"But if the visibility becomes a problem, then there'll be announcements in plenty of time to let people know that the entire Thruway is closed. We're also going to be keeping an eye on the Skyway," she added.
She says the state has already put plows and even generators in place, and state officials will join her in a Buffalo command post tomorrow. State crews will help plow major roads in the city of Buffalo
