Feet of Lake-Effect Snow to Bury Communities Around Great Lakes
By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist
November 18, 2014; 3:59 AM ET
Commuters woke to cars buried in snow on Tuesday morning Nov. 25th.
Bands of very heavy lake-effect snow will continue much of this week and could break
a 24-hour United States snowfall record Tuesday night November 25th.
The coldest air of the season so far pouring across the Great Lakes will continue to
trigger the lake-effect.
The snow will be blinding in some areas, falling at the rate of 3-5 inches per hour, and
can be accompanied by gusty winds, thunder and lightning.
Travel will be impossible for a time in the heaviest bands of snow.
The bands of heavy snow will continue into early Wednesday, before diminishing
somewhat. Lake-effect snow will then re-energize on Thursday after a weak storm
system with general light snow swings through at midweek.
The intense bands of lake-effect snow and squalls have the potential to shut down
travel not only in the Interstate-90 corridor in western New York State, but also along
the same highway in northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio, I-81 in
northern upstate New York and the I-196 corridor in western Lower Michigan.
Heavy snow had begun to cause road closures south of Buffalo, New York, as early as
Monday night, including portions of US 219 and NY 400. Several feet of snow left
motorists stranded on the New York Thruway south of Buffalo as a band of intense
snow, like a giant snow gun from a ski resort, lingered in the area on Tuesday. Plows
were stuck in at least one community.
As of the midday hours on Tuesday, an unofficial snowfall measurement of
60 inches has been recorded in the past 24 hours in Lackawanna, New
York, just south of Buffalo. However, snowfall of 4 feet or more has been
observed in some of the south towns. Depending on the investigation of
snowfall measurement activities, and if the intense snow continues through
the evening Tuesday, there is a chance the 24-hour United States snowfall
record may fall. That official record belongs to Silver Lake, Colorado, with
76 inches, spanning April 14-15, 1921. A report of snowfall of 77 inches in
24 hours at Montague, New York, was thrown out by officials from January
1997.
A distance of only a few miles can make the difference between whiteout
conditions and manageable flurries.
A relatively small amount of snow has fallen on much of the city of Buffalo
with some areas receiving an inch or less as of Tuesday afternoon. Heavy
snow is likely to shift into the city on one or more occasions through
Thursday.
More than a foot of snow will fall in the shifting bands of intense lake effect.
Where these bands persist, 5 feet or more of snow will fall this week.
According to Accu-Weather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "People
traveling from Cleveland to Boston may want to take a more southern route
such as I-80 to I-95, as it will be better to have a longer trip rather than to
risk getting stranded by taking a more direct route along lakes Erie and
Ontario."
Motorists should exercise caution when traveling over the high ground in
western Pennsylvania. While the snow will be less intense in this area, there
can be slippery travel and a sudden reduction in visibility.
The weather may dictate frequent shoveling and plowing operations to avoid
travel difficulties later. Plunging temperatures, in some cases to the single
digits and teens, will cause wet and slushy areas to freeze.
In addition to bringing record cold to the South, the air will become cold
enough with gusty winds to raise the risk for frostbite and hypothermia for
those not properly dressed in the Midwest and Northeast.
If you must travel from the Upper Midwest to areas downwind of the lower
Great Lakes, make sure you have warm blankets and clothing, drinking
water and extra food in case you get stuck.
Commuters woke to cars buried in snow on Tuesday morning as piles of feet fell over the area.
According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Steve Travis, "Although there is often some
lake-effect snow in November, it is uncommon to get such a prolonged lake-effect
event this early in the season."
It will not be until later this weekend, when the atmosphere will warm up enough to turn
off the lake-effect snow machine. By then, some communities may have a record
amount of snow for so early in the season.
The warmup this weekend will be accompanied by a storm with rain. The combination
of milder air, rain and melting snow could lead to flooding problems.
Lancaster, New York. (Photo/ Twitter User @EmilyKoeppel96)
One Buffalo resident woke to 4 feet of snow piled up at their
front door on Tuesday morning. (Photo/Instagram Usercabinlife_ny)
Lake-effect snow buried parts of Buffalo over Monday night and
into Tuesday morning. (Photo/Timothy Leary)
In Adlen, N.Y., a Buffalo suburb, up to 45 inches of snow was dumped
over the area leaving residents to be creative with their shovels.
(Photo/Lynn Lorenc Ineson)
Massive Lake Effect Snow Event Continues
Update: 11/20/2014 6am THURSDAY
The Lake machine cranking up again... They are watching for another
potential 1-2 feet of snow in spots today into tonight.
After seeing more images of this week's historic lake effect snow
event in western New York, Virginian’s should be counting their
blessings! Over the last few days, New Yorker’s have gotten TONS of
snow. Look at some of these totals from the National Weather Service
office in Buffalo, NY.
SIXTY INCHES OF SNOW.
Those are JUST from Erie County!
You can imagine that all of that snow piling up on cars, homes, and
businesses can't be good.
A scene like this might seem tranquil...
But snow piling up on rooftops and around doors can cause them to collapse.
Lake effect snow can make travel deadly.
Sadly, as of this morning, this lake effect snow event has led to 5 deaths.
Imagine opening up your garage doors to THIS.
Lake effect season typically runs from November through
March.
There's no doubt that these folks will be digging out for quite
a while.
As the Buffalo News exclaimed in their headline this
morning...Western New Yorkers are a resilient bunch.
Talk about digging out!