Additional feet of snow pile up in Buffalo area after western New York buried by prior snowstorm
The lake-effect snow will end once the snow from the cross-country storm begins Thursday night. By this time, some locations south of Buffalo may end up with 7 feet of snow when combining the two lake-effect events this week.
Feet of lake-effect snow bury western New York
Heavy lake-effect snow will continue for one more day today downwind of Lake Erie and Ontario.
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Heavy lake-effect snow will continue for one more day downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in New York state.
Off Lake Erie, the snow band will stay south of Buffalo on Thursday morning, with snowfall rates as high as 1-2 inches per hour over the Buffalo Southtowns, the FOX Forecast Center said.
The band will then begin to move north around midday, once again bringing heavy snow to the city of Buffalo. During the afternoon, the snow band will move north of Buffalo before sliding back toward the city during the evening hours.
The lake-effect snow will end once the snow from the cross-country storm begins Thursday night. By this time, some locations south of Buffalo may end up with 7 feet of snow when combining the two lake-effect events this week.
In West Seneca, a suburb just south of the city of Buffalo, the 5-day total snowfall is now at 74.8 inches. Meanwhile, in the heart of the Lake Ontario snow band, the FOX Forecast Center said 40 inches of snow was reported in Copenhagen, New York, between 5 a.m. Wednesday and 8:15 a.m. Thursday morning.day morning.
Forty inches of snow was reported in Copenhagen, New York, over a 27-hour span
(FOX Weather)
Footage by Richard Hulburd of @weather_buffalo shows the "near-blizzard conditions" at the Lake Erie waterfront in Hamburg, New York, with approximately two feet of snow on the ground, according to his observations.
Man trudges through 'near-blizzard conditions' in western New York
Several feet of snow piled up in parts of western New York on Tuesday, January 16, after a band of lake-effect snow hit the region. Footage by Richard Hulburd of @weather_buffalo shows the
So far, local authorities have reported three storm-related deaths in Erie County, New York.
(FOX Weather)
Snow rates of 2-3 inches per hour likely off Lake Ontario
Off Lake Ontario, a band of heavy lake-effect snow with snowfall rates between 2 and 3 inches per hour is ongoing Thursday morning.
(FOX Weather)
By early afternoon, this band will move north and hammer the Watertown and Fort Drum areas. The band will drift back south by late afternoon before ending Thursday night.
Weekly snow totals in this area will also be measured in feet.
After taking a brief break as the cross-country storm moves through, the lake-effect machine will kick right back into gear Friday night. Except this time, the winds will be out of the north, and the heavy snow will focus on the southern shores of the Great Lakes, the FOX Forecast Center said.
This will put northern Ohio, including the Cleveland metro, and northern Indiana, including the South Bend area, right in the bull's-eye for heavy snow.
Winter Storm Warnings are in effect as periods of heavy snow impact these areas through Sunday morning.
(FOX Weather)
The snow will be accompanied by below-zero wind chills and gusty winds, which could lead to severely reduced visibility.
Region still buried in snow from earlier storm
For western New York residents, this week's storm is piling on top of heavy snow from last weekend.
Video from the town of Hamburg, New York, Office of Emergency Services on Sunday shows a car driving slowly through the snowfall with other drivers' headlights barely visible in the distance.
Heavy snowfall covered Hoak’s Lakeshore Restaurant in Hamburg with icicles, as captured by Richard Hulburd from @weather_buffalo. Writing on X on Monday, Hulburd said the scene felt like he "walked into the movie Frozen."
LAKE-EFFECT SNOWSTORM TURNS NEW YORK BUSINESSES INTO ‘FROZEN’ CASTLE
The restaurant described the weather as a "small dose of an ice castle coating."
Local business receives 'ice castle coating' during winter storm
A restaurant beside Lake Erie in Hamburg became covered in ice after Western New York was impacted by lake-effect snow on Sunday, January 14.
Is another NFL playoff postponement possible?
All eyes will shift to Orchard Park's Highmark Stadium on Sunday, when the Buffalo Bills are set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs at 6:30 p.m. EST. The NFL and fans are hoping not to have a repeat of last weekend's day-long postponement of the Wild Card game until Monday due to near-blizzard conditions.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS, BUFFALO BILLS GAME RESCHEDULED FOR MONDAY DUE TO HEAVY SNOW, WIND
Even on Monday, crowds had to wade through feet of snow to cheer on the home team. This happened despite the team calling out to fans to come shovel snow from the stadium for $20 per hour and free meals.
Buffalo Bills fans forced to become human-snowplow to find seats for Wildcard Game
A committed Steelers fan works as a human snowplow to clear a row of seats.
"This was the first game in the NFL history without assigned seating, but you had to clean off your own spot," FOX Weather Meteorologist Ian Oliver said. "It was kind of everybody for themselves."
The heaviest snow looks to stop by the time the Bills take on the Chiefs on Sunday, but light snow showers remain possible.