Significant snow expected in western and northern New York
Parts of Northern and Western New York were bracing Monday for the onset of a lake-effect snowstorm that could bring up to 2 feet of snow, and possibly as much as 3 feet in some areas, officials and forecasters said.
The worst conditions are likely to occur Monday night into Tuesday, with snow speeds exceeding two inches per hour within the heaviest snow areas, making travel “very difficult to impossible.” the National Weather Service office in Buffalo said.
The storm, which is expected to have winds of up to 35 miles per hour, will impact the Eastern Lake Ontario region.
“The heaviest accumulations will remain south of Watertown and across the Tug Hill Plateau,” which is east of Lake Ontario, forecasters said. “Areas outside of lake effect will largely see nothing but a passing snow shower at times.”
The National Weather Service said a lake effect snow warning would be in effect for Jefferson, Lewis and Oswego counties from 4 p.m. Monday through 7 a.m. Wednesday.
A warning was in effect for northern Oneida and Onondaga counties, including Syracuse, from 10 a.m. Tuesday through 7 a.m. Wednesday, with accumulations of two to three inches in the forecast.
Warnings were also posted in Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Wyoming and southern Erie counties, with 8 to 18 inches of snow likely. The storm was also expected to affect parts of Hamilton and northern Herkimer counties.
But forecasters say the Buffalo metro area, which was paralyzed by a lake-effect snowstorm just before Christmas last year, will likely be spared.
“The most dangerous weather conditions will occur in areas where lake effect snow bands are forming, producing large amounts of snow in a short period of time, which will hamper travel in some places over the next day or so,” Governor Kathy Hochul of New York said this in a statement on Sunday.
The preparation for the storm comes when the Great Lakes are warm and not yet frozen for the season, and strong winds are blowing across them. Narrow bands of snow can then pile up quickly, making travel particularly treacherous, even in a region where residents are used to severe winter weather.
Monday morning, shoppers flocked to the Lowville Farmers Co-Op in Lowville, NY, about an hour north of Rome, NY, in preparation for the storm, said the store’s supervisor, Jennifer Garcia.
“It was already busy this morning,” she said. “People say, ‘We have to go in. We have to buy gloves. We have to buy hats. We need to buy snow pants. ”
She said residents pay closer attention when the weather forecast calls for lake effect snow because it is difficult to predict where the snow will be most intense.
She recalled that during one such event last year, employees coming from within a few miles of the store were either smothered by snow or had no snow at all, depending entirely on the direction they came from.
“You just don’t know how those bands are going to perform,” she said.