Upstate New York was covered in several feet of snow over the weekend, with some areas receiving more than 40 inches of the white stuff.
Orchard Park, home of the Buffalo Bills stadium, received about 18 inches of snow and more was forecast for Sunday. The Bills’ home game Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers was expected to go on as scheduled despite the ominous forecast for the region.
Winds were expected to change in the afternoon, moving most of the storm south of Orchard Park and limiting the amount of snow at the stadium.
“This relatively minor change in wind direction may be just enough to shift the heaviest and most persistent band of lake-effect snow just south of Orchard Park during the game, but snow showers are still expected during the game itself,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Grady Gilman said. said.
The worst snowfall occurred north of Syracuse, off Lake Ontario. Barnes Corners received 45 inches of snow, the most in the region, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard. Nearby Adams Center saw 36 inches of snow.
Farther south, off Lake Erie, several towns in Chautauqua County received more than 30 inches of snow, led by Cassadaga with nearly 35 inches.
Lake effect snow was expected to continue to fall Sunday near Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and the Bills offered to pay snow shovelers $20 an hour to clean their stadium. Governor Hochul said workers and plows from across the state had been deployed to the area to help clear the snow.
In Erie, Pennsylvania, the city estimated that more than 100 cars were snowed in on the roads, in many cases blocking snowplow access.
“We just keep digging,” Barnes Corners businessman Kevin Tyo told the Associated Press. “If you’re not used to it, stay home. If you’re away, slow down.
Because lake effect snow falls in narrow bands, downtown Buffalo was forecasting only a few inches on Sunday, while areas south of the city were bracing for several feet.
A massive stretch of I-90 was closed to commercial vehicles, but travel to and from Buffalo Niagara International Airport remained largely unchanged on what is traditionally the busiest travel day in the calendar year.
Cold weather that created conditions suitable for lake-effect snow extended across much of the Northeast and Midwest, including New York. Temperatures started out in the 20s in all five boroughs, but were expected to reach the low 40s as the day progressed.
Unsurprisingly, the most troubled airport Sunday morning was Chicago O’Hare, which led the nation with more than 90 flights delayed before noon, according to flight tracking site FlightAware. However, cancellations remained rare nationally, even at O’Hare.
With news feed services
