Buffalo knows snowstorms, but this one could be epic
AccuWeather forecasters say a blockbuster lake-effect snowstorm will bury some locations in western New York with feet of snow, grind travel to a halt and possibly stamp new marks in the weather history books.
“Bands of heavy lake-effect snow began to pour off Lake Erie and Lake Ontario late Wednesday night, and meteorologists say that snow is only one phase of what is shaping up to be a historic and multiday snowfall event,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Renee Duff.
The National Weather Service said the snow could paralyze the hardesthit communities, including Buffalo, with periods of near-zero visibility.
Several feet of heavy lake-effect snow is expected in parts of western New York this week, according to the weather service in Buffalo.
Weather service meteorologist David Thomas described an “intense band of lake-effect snow” at a rate of 3 inches an hour at times over three days.
Travel, he said, could be “very difficult to impossible.”
All commercial traffic has been banned on a stretch of the New York State Thruway, between Exit 46 in Henrietta and the Pennsylvania state line until further notice. The state Department of Transportation has banned commercial vehicles in other Buffalo area highways.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency.
“I want western New Yorkers to take this seriously,” Hochul said.