A lake-effect snowstorm dumps nearly 5 feet (1.5 meters) of snow across the Great Lakes, paralyzing travel

BUFFALO, N.Y – A long-lasting and historic lake-effect snowstorm that dumped 3 to 5 feet of snow in Great Lakes communities from Michigan to New York continues to wreak havoc across the region, impacting travel as people head to work and school after the busy Thanksgiving weekend return to school.

Epic amounts of snowfall were reported across the region, including in communities downwind of Lake Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York, and downwind of Lake Ontario in northern New York. In the most stubborn lake bands it is possible that an additional 30 cm or more of snow will fall before it finally calms down on Tuesday.

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With snowfall rates ranging from 1 to 4 inches per hour, accumulations overwhelmed efforts to keep roads clear under the heaviest bands of snow. Because of that, authorities were forced to close large portions of Interstate 90 in New York and Pennsylvania to give crews time to remove snow and ice that had quickly accumulated.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said late Saturday that some lanes on I-90 would be allowed to reopen to passenger vehicles and that the commercial vehicle ban was lifted at 2 a.m. Monday from Exit 46 to the Pennsylvania state line.

Both Hochul and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro declared states of emergency due to the ongoing lake-effect snowstorm, and officials had urged people to stay home and stay off the roads for safety reasons.

FOX Weather Storm Tracker Brandon Copic said vehicles had a difficult time maneuvering through the snow and that rescue operations took place.

“Honestly, it’s just chaos out here,” Copic said Saturday from Erie County, Pennsylvania. “The trucks are driving on roads they shouldn’t be on because the highways are closed, and that just leads to more cars getting stranded. I spent 15 hours Friday night helping people…doing what I can to help those who are stuck.”

Copic sent his drone There was an epic traffic jam of dozens of vehicles stuck in the snow over State Route 5 in Pennsylvania near the New York border around noon on Saturday.

“The trucks jackknifing up the road caused the traffic jam,” Copic said, estimating that most vehicles had been stranded there since Friday.

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Winter weather advisories remain in effect across the region, including lake effect snow advisories from Cleveland to southwestern New York that will remain in effect at least through Tuesday morning.

Winter weather warnings also remain in effect for parts of central New York, including metro Syracuse, where several waves of lake-effect snow will hit the area through Tuesday afternoon.

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Snowfall on Lake Erie will continue Monday

The FOX Forecast Center said the primary layer of snow coming from Lake Erie will fall southward again Monday, and the biggest challenge for forecasters is accurately predicting where the heaviest snow will fall and how far inland it will spread becomes.

The band of snow is expected to temporarily remain near the southern lakeshore, but a shift to northwesterly winds will likely push it further inland.

Some areas could see an additional foot or more of snow, with the highest totals likely in portions of Erie County, Pennsylvania, to Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties in southwestern New York.

The city of Erie, Pennsylvania was already buried on Friday when it reported its snowiest day on record with a whopping 22.6 inches of snow before Saturday’s storm totals surpassed the snow depth of 2 feet.

Travel on major roads and highways in the region, including I-90, I-86 and I-79, could once again become dangerous and nearly impassable. In heavy snow, visibility could drop to less than a quarter mile and strong winds could blow away snow that has already fallen.

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Lake Ontario was also affected

The FOX Forecast Center said the heavy band of snow coming from Lake Ontario has weakened and shifted south after dumping nearly 1.5 meters of snow southeast of Watertown, New York, in the city of Copenhagen.

The threat of snow there has now passed, and as winds shift more strongly to the northwest, attention will shift to new areas further south of Lake Ontario.

The focus will be on a section of Interstate 90 from Rochester to Syracuse, where bands of snow could produce snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour.

That could make travel treacherous on this stretch of I-90, which didn’t experience too many problems during this lake-effect snowstorm.

Whiteout situations could occur in communities on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan

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The FOX Forecast Center said multiple bands of lake-effect snow will continue well into Tuesday in western and northern Michigan in the downwind areas of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.

The bands are not expected to see snowfall as high as Pennsylvania and New York, but it will still be heavy enough to cause near-whiteout conditions and dangerous travel.

Cities like Gaylord, Michigan, have already seen historic amounts of snow. The 24.8 inches that fell in Gaylord on Friday alone made Nov. 29 the city’s snowiest calendar day on record.

However, the FOX Forecast Center said the main difference on Monday will be the change in winds. The winds will have a more northerly component, meaning bands of snow coming from Lake Superior will be the most intense, according to forecasters.