Water temperatures on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario have ranged from 48 to 51 degrees.
Advertisement Story continues below advertisement On Monday, the snow bands were forecast to weaken and shift south because of changing wind patterns.
Another foot is possible in Watertown, and up to two feet for areas south of Buffalo along Lake Erie.
For Lake Erie, the greatest totals have hovered around three feet between Erie and south of Buffalo.
Story continues below advertisement Authorities had to tow more than 100 vehicles off Route 5 just to clear it of snow.
Great Lakes communities were still being battered by lake effect snow on Sunday, with some reports reaching 46 inches. Snowplows became stuck, and some post-Thanksgiving holiday travelers were forced to leave their cars behind.
State officials sent out legions of snowplows to clear roads and highways, especially in northwestern and southwestern New York, where the snowfall has been the heaviest. The heavy snowfall, which was caused by extremely cold air passing over the unusually warm water of the Great Lakes, prompted emergency declarations in parts of New York and Pennsylvania. With four feet of snow already on the ground in some areas and the severe weather predicted to last through Monday, the National Weather Service has referred to the situation as “paralyzing.”. Another foot or more is coming for some people.
New York and Pennsylvania continued to impose travel restrictions, and on Sunday afternoon, a number of traffic incidents accumulated along Interstate 90 between Syracuse, Buffalo, and Erie. The Weather Service predicts that the snowfall will continue through Sunday, with Jefferson County, New York, seeing the most intense amounts, with 3 to 4 inches falling per hour.
“First responders are working around the clock to ensure the safety of our communities as New Yorkers deal with the ongoing impacts of lake effect snow,” said New York Gov. In a statement released on Sunday, Kathy Hochul (D).
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Be mindful of the environment and climate.
State officials were making every effort to keep roads clear for an 8:20 p.m. arrival, she added. m. the San Francisco 49ers vs. Buffalo Bills football game. Orchard Park, where the Buffalo Bills play, had gained 22-point-nine inches.
Until the end of the fourth quarter, Hochul’s office stated that plow beats have been doubled on the highways that lead into and out of the Bills’ Highmark Stadium in Erie County. According to the Bills team, snow removal workers were clearing the stadium “nonstop” on Sunday afternoon.
Snow from the lake effect happens when extremely cold air moves over noticeably warmer water. The wind carries the snow bands that are formed when the cold air collects moisture and then rises due to the heat.
The frigid air that recently moved into the Great Lakes from Siberia created the perfect conditions for heavy lake-effect snows, and the water temperature is at record lows.
Lake Ontario and Lake Erie’s water temperatures have fluctuated between 48 and 51 degrees. On the other hand, air temperatures have tended to drop.
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures in the eastern half of the country will drop sharply into next week due to the Arctic winds.
In New York, communities along the eastern shore of Lake Ontario had received the most snowfall by Sunday afternoon. In Jefferson and Lewis counties, for example, snowfall had reached 46 inches in places like Copenhagen, which is close to Watertown, according to the Weather Service. That reading, however, came shortly after 8 a.m. m. It’s highly probable that the same region extends up to 55 to 60 inches. By midday on Sunday, Watertown proper had recorded 37.6 inches.
While Buffalo proper has seen no snow at all, some communities in the Buffalo area, which is located on the eastern end of Lake Erie, have received up to 38 inches of snow. That’s what lake-effect bands are like. Due to the snow bands’ extreme localization, nearby communities may only be a mile or two apart and experience radically different outcomes.
Due to shifting wind patterns, the snow bands were predicted to weaken and move south on Monday. But for most of the coming week, snow was predicted to fall intermittently, with towns that were severely affected this weekend potentially receiving an extra 6 to 12 inches.
Watertown may see another foot, and areas along Lake Erie south of Buffalo may see up to two feet. The warnings there end at 7:00 p.m. m. Tuesday. .
The city government of Erie, Pennsylvania, posted on Facebook on Saturday that cars were stuck in streets and intersections. According to a city update released on Sunday, the situation was still “treacherous” and snowplows were becoming stuck.
According to the city’s post, “Approximately 100 cars are obstructing roads throughout the city and need to be towed out of the way so plows can get through.”.
On Friday night, the frequent lake-effect snowstorms started to cover Upstate New York, and they have persisted throughout the weekend.
Other reports of almost four feet have been made on Lake Ontario’s shores. Approximately three feet has been the highest total for Lake Erie between Erie and south of Buffalo. It was 37.6 inches in Cassadaga, New York, and 37.6 inches in Perrysburg, Ohio, which is close by.
In certain locations, snowfall rates topped four inches per hour.
Commercial vehicles were prohibited from traveling from Rochester to the Pennsylvania state line until further notice by the New York State Thruway Authority, which oversees Interstate 90 along the lakeshore.
Just to get rid of the snow, authorities had to tow over 100 cars off Route 5.
Even in the midst of the heavy snowfall, lightning flashes were reported by the GOES East weather satellite, which is located 22,234 miles above the ground. The warm lake waters caused exceptional instability, or the force that causes air to rise.
Because of this, snow showers were able to reach a height of 20,000 feet, which is high enough to cause “charge separation” and lightning strikes.
Frances Vinall, Jiselle Lee, and Kelsey Ables contributed to this report.
