In anticipation of the first major multiday lake-effect blizzard of the season, which is expected to intensify beginning on Monday, the eastern coastlines of Lakes Erie and Ontario have been issued Lake-Effect Snow Warnings.
The dreary winter weather follows a strong storm that during Thanksgiving weekend hampered traffic and dumped several inches of snow from the Plains states into the Great Lakes area, resulting in at least three fatalities.
Lake-effect snow is expected to persist until at least Wednesday, according to the FOX Forecast Centre, as cold air from Canada is drawn in and passes over the Great Lakes, which are still relatively warm and not frozen. read more post
This means that areas around Erie, Pennsylvania, and in western New York might get well over a foot of snow.
Through Wednesday, the areas most likely to get 12 to 18 inches of snow are those from Erie to the Ellicottville, New York, area, depending on where the heaviest snow bands settle.
Significant amounts of snow are also predicted in the central New York region north of Syracuse and south of Watertown. Up to two feet of snow might be seen in certain areas close to Richland, New York.
Because of the mostly west-to-northwest wind, the FOX Forecast Centre anticipates that the heavy snow will remain south of Buffalo and Watertown. The FOX Forecast Centre doesn’t anticipate a west-southwest wind, which is the most likely wind direction to bring heavy snow to those cities, to happen at this moment.
Moving back west, significant lake-effect snow is possible off Lake Superior in sections of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on Monday and Monday night. As a result, the National Weather Service issued Winter Storm Warnings, which will be in force from Sunday night until Tuesday morning.
GOING ANYWHERE THIS WINTER? THINGS YOU SHOULD HAVE IN YOUR CAR IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT
Once winter weather sets in, travel in certain locations is expected to be very difficult due to the presence of Winter Storm Watches and Lake-force Snow Warnings.
If you plan to travel through any of the narrow bands of heavy snowfall, as predicted by the National Weather Service, be prepared for rapidly changing road conditions and reduced visibility.
