at 11:11 AM by Mallory Schnell

Update on Buffalo Snow

All eyes have been on Buffalo, NY as heavy lake-effect snow pounds the snowbelt. Up to 65 inches of snow (that’s over five feet!) have fallen in Buffalo suburbs so far, and more is unfortunately on the way. Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York, has issued a state of emergency for 10 of the snowbelt counties including Erie County (Buffalo). A 132-mile section of Interstate 90 remains closed because of the dangerous driving conditions. Five people have died in incidents related to the storm in Buffalo; two fell victim to automobile accidents and another three died due to cardiac complications.

The Weather Channel provides their forecast timeline for the rest of the week in a recent article:

– Wednesday: Lake snowbands disrupted from west to east by weak reinforcing cold front; more widespread light-moderate snow. Then, bands redevelop later in the western Great Lakes (round two begins).

– Thursday: Lake-effect snow (round two) continues

– Friday: Lake-effect snow ends first in the western Great Lakes early in the day, then downwind of Lake Erie late Friday. Lake Ontario lake snowband may persist into early Saturday before ending.

– Saturday: Lake Ontario snowband finally ends. Daytime highs should rise above freezing in most of the Great Lakes. Light rain is possible in parts of the Great Lakes, in western/central New York later in the day.

– Sunday: More substantial rain pushes into Great Lakes later in the day. Daytime highs push into the 40s over much of the Great Lakes.

 

Once the snow ends, Buffalo is not out of the clear, however; snowmelt and rain this weekend may lead to another area of concern: flooding.