Buffalo, Western New York absolutely slammed by lake-effect snowstorm

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Though the popular Christmas carol encourages acceptance of the white stuff, it’s doubtful most citizens of Buffalo, N.Y., and the surrounding area are overly pleased with the dumping of snow they’re currently experiencing — even if they can stay inside, warm and dry.

As of Friday morning, a dangerous lake-effect snowstorm has paralyzed parts of western and northern New York, with more than a foot of snow already on the ground in places and a driving ban keeping people off roads in the Buffalo area.

1:32 Buffalo snowstorm: Trucks wait for highways to reopen while residents dig themselves out

The worst snowfall was expected in Buffalo, where the National Weather Service said up to four feet (1.2 metres) might fall in some spots through Sunday, with periods of near-zero visibility. Other areas could get a foot (0.3 metres) or less of the lake-effect snow, which is caused by frigid air picking up copious amounts of moisture from the warmer lakes.

While Buffalo is used to large snowfalls, Global News meteorologist Anthony Farnell says this amount of snow this early in the season is definitely unusual.

2:33 Buffalo snow storm: Driving ban in effect in city’s south

“Residents in upstate New York will be measuring snowfall in feet over the coming days. Three feet (90 centimetres) is possible near Buffalo as a strong southwesterly flow transports very chilly air over the relatively warm Lake Erie waters,” he said.

Farnell, currently on the ground in Buffalo, says the water temperatures in Lake Erie are still averaging over 10 C thanks to an unseasonably warm fall, and this is causing “ideal conditions” for significant lake-effect snow.

“It has been a wild night south of Buffalo,” said Farnell on Friday. “Every time I tried to fall asleep, another flash of light and sometimes very loud thunder. It was a complete whiteout as I looked through the window at the hotel parking lot below. This morning I had to search through the drifts to figure out which car was mine.”

As the cold air travels over the Great Lakes, warmth and moisture rise into the Earth’s lower atmosphere, resulting in thick, condensed clouds that have the ability to drop large amounts of snow.

2:50 Snowy and icy weather conditions expected across Great Lakes region

The U.S. weather service received reports early Friday of more than a foot of snow along the eastern end of Lake Erie, with totals as high as 19.5 inches (49.5 centimetres) in Buffalo and up to 22.5 inches (57 centimetres) in Hamburg, New York, about 12 miles (19 kilometres) from Buffalo.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Thursday for parts of western New York, including communities along the eastern ends of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Hochul’s state of emergency covers 11 counties, with commercial truck traffic banned from a stretch of Interstate 90.

“About 2 feet or 60 centimetres of snow has fallen so far in West Seneca, just south of Buffalo. The lightning has stopped for now and the snow is lighter, but another wave will likely bring another foot or two (30 – 60 centimetres) later today and tonight,” said Farnell.

4:05 Buffalo snowstorm: Residents cope with blizzard, as more snow on the way

“This is like nothing I’ve ever been in, and everyone I’ve talked to in the neighbourhood is so kind and helpful to one another. Residents here deal with extreme lake effect snow every winter but they also say the amount of snow that has fallen in such a short period of time in this storm is very rare,” he continued.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz issued a driving ban beginning Thursday night, shortly after heavy snow punctuated by thunder and lightning moved into Buffalo. The ban on nonemergency vehicles on roadways was downgraded to an advisory for the city of Buffalo on Friday, but the ban remained in effect in some other parts of the county, Poloncarz said. The most intense snowfall was expected to last through Friday evening, with more falling on Saturday into Sunday.

3:01 Buffalo blizzard: NY Governor Kathy Hochul declares local states of emergency in some counties

Aside from Farnell’s reports, there have been other reports of “thundersnow” and lightning from amateur and professional weather watchers alike.

The potentially historic snowfall means football fans will no longer watch the Buffalo Bills play the Cleveland Browns at Highmark Stadium Sunday.

The Bills tweeted Thursday that “out of an abundance of caution” the game has been moved to Ford Field in Detroit.

Maybe the snow is a good omen for the Bills — at least based on some weather imagery from above.

“The snow band shifts north into the Niagara region of Ontario Saturday morning, giving residents here some time to dig out before more snow arrives on Sunday,” warned Farnell.

— With files from The Associated Press and Global News’ Michelle Butterfield and Anthony Farnell