The region's residents know very well the possibilities of lake effect snow, which can pile up quickly in some areas while other locales receive very little precipitation. Dave Thomas of the National Weather Service says that will be the case in the coming days. As three feet of snow hits areas to the south, Buffalo and its northern suburbs should see only a dusting of snow.
A Lake Effect Snow Warning will continue through 6 a.m. Saturday for Southern Erie, Wyoming, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties.
Here's a segment of the statement from the National Weather Service:
* ACCUMULATIONS...3 TO 6 INCHES TODAY...6 TO 12 INCHES TONIGHT...
4 TO 8 INCHES FRIDAY...AND 3 TO 5 INCHES FRIDAY NIGHT... LEADING
TO STORM TOTALS OF AROUND 2 FEET IN THE MOST PERSISTENT LAKE
SNOWS.
* WINDS...WEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH.
* IMPACTS...HEAVY LAKE EFFECT SNOW AND AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW
WILL LEAD TO SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW ON AREA
ROADWAYS AND VERY POOR VISIBILITIES AT TIMES...RESULTING IN
HAZARDOUS TO NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TRAVEL CONDITIONS AT TIMES
WITHIN THE MOST INTENSE PORTION OF THE BAND. IF YOU MUST
TRAVEL BE PREPARED FOR SEVERE WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS WITH
NEAR ZERO VISIBILITY AND DEEP SNOW COVER ON ROADS. THIS
INCLUDES THE NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY FROM HAMBURG TO THE NEW
YORK/PENNSYLVANIA STATE LINE.