Cold blast will bring lake-effect snow to several states as post-Thanksgiving travel gets underway

The first big snowstorm of the season threatens to bury New York’s cities along Lakes Erie and Ontario during a busy holiday and shopping weekend.

A surge of cold air in the Arctic will extend south and east and bring “dangerously cold wind chills” to the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest, the National Weather Service said Saturday, while heavy lake-effect snowfall could make travel “very difficult, if not impossible”. next week.

“Travel will be extremely difficult and dangerous this weekend, especially in areas where several feet of snow can accumulate very quickly,” the National Weather Service said Saturday.

CBS New York meteorologist John Elliott said “very heavy snow” would hit communities along the Great Lakes, Plans and Midwest regions.

Cold weather advisories were issued for parts of North Dakota on Saturday and high pressure from central Canada will move south to the Northern Plains by Monday. A frost warning will be issued for states from the central Gulf Coast to the southeast, the weather service said.

Part of Interstate 90 in Pennsylvania was closed Saturday, as were the westbound lanes of the New York Thruway heading into Pennsylvania. Nearly two feet of snow has already fallen in parts of New York, Ohio and Michigan and some 29 inches of snow has been recorded in the northwest tip of Pennsylvania.

Roads in parts of northwestern Pennsylvania became so impassable early Saturday that dozens of people sheltered for the night in the lobby and hallways of a sold-out Holiday Inn hotel near I-90. Jeremiah Weatherley, a hotel employee, said dozens of people arrived as the snow accumulated, with employees opening the hotel’s conference room and giving people blankets so they could sleep on the ground.

“It was difficult to deal with but we had no choice,” he said. “They’re just coming in and we don’t want to turn people away.”

Light to moderate snow was expected Saturday from the Middle Mississippi Valley to the central Appalachians, with similar snow conditions across parts of the Northern Plains, Upper Mississippi Valley and central Appalachia on Sunday, officials said. meteorological services.

In Michigan, significant lake effect snowfall in the northern part of the state is expected to continue through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Gaylord. Some areas of the Upper Peninsula could see up to 3 feet of snow overnight Sunday into Monday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Lily Chapman.

New York state forecasters warned that 4 to 6 feet of drifting and blowing snow could fall in Watertown and other areas east of Lake Ontario through Monday.

After an unusually mild fall, up to 2 to 3 feet of snow was possible along Lake Erie and south of Buffalo from lake-effect bands known to hit the region with snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour. Lake effect snow occurs when warm, moist air rising from a body of water mixes with cold, dry air above.

“The lake temperature is 50 degrees. We’re about six degrees above what we should be at this time of year, which is why we’re seeing these significant lake effect events,” said Erie County Public Works Commissioner William Geary. “The outlook for the next couple of weeks through December, we’ll probably see more.”

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for targeted counties, allowing state agencies to mobilize resources. Rapidly deteriorating conditions Friday caused closures along Interstate 90, and tandem and commercial vehicles were banned from Interstate 86 in western New York and much of U.S. Route 219 in starting Friday afternoon.

“There are a significant number of vehicles going off the road on 219 right now,” said Gregory Butcher, Erie County’s deputy director of preparedness and homeland security, during a press briefing on Monday. afternoon.

ATVs and snowmobiles were placed throughout the county to assist first responders if needed, Butcher said.

The Buffalo Bills called on volunteers to potentially shovel snow at Highmark Stadium, where more than 2 feet of snow was possible before Sunday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.

“It’s going to be slow, there’s no doubt about it,” said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, adding that the heaviest snowfall should be over by kickoff.

Lake-effect snow also blanketed parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in a system expected to last through the weekend. The area was covered in snow Friday afternoon, with some places already measuring more than a foot of snow.

“We have this west, northwest flow pattern and this cold air mass over the UP,” said Chapman of the National Weather Service. “So it’s a really good setup for this long-duration lake effect snowfall event.”

Gusty winds, particularly near the Great Lakes, impacted visibility in Michigan and Chapman urged caution on the roads.

Joe DeLizio, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Gaylord, said visibility on the roads was low, but he had not been informed of any major accidents so far.

“I haven’t heard much about any problems, but obviously traveling is pretty difficult,” DeLizio said.