A lake-effect blizzard is expected to bring up to 6 feet of snow to the Watertown, N.Y., area of east of Lake Ontario over the next several days, forecasters said Friday. This image depicts expected snowfalls just through Saturday morning. Image courtesy National Weather Service
Nov. 29 (UPI) — Emergencies were declared in western New York and parts of Pennsylvania on Friday as a post-Thanksgiving storm was set to produce life-threatening snowfalls of up to 6 feet in areas east of lakes Ontario and Erie.
Total accumulations of 4 to 6 feet were forecast for the cities of Oswego, Watertown and Lowville, N.Y., in the eastern Lake Ontario region over the next several days, according to the National Weather Service, with the greatest accumulations expected near Watertown and the northern Tug Hill region.
Meanwhile, accumulations from 3 to 4 feet were forecast for Wyoming, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and southern Erie counties of New York.
“Travel will be very difficult to impossible with deep snow cover on roads and extremely poor visibility,” the weather service said. “The hazardous conditions will impact the Friday evening commute.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation closed Interstate 90 in both directions from I-79 to the New York state line in Erie County due to the lake-effect snow, while the New York State Thruway Authority closed I-90 to all westbound vehicles from Exit 59 in Fredonia, N.Y.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochel issued a State of Emergency effective as of 3 p.m. EST Friday in Allegany, Erie, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Genesee, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, St. Lawrence and Wyoming counties.
“This is a very serious storm,” she said. “People have gotten a little complacent because the fall and the winter thus far have been pretty mild. But I want everyone to take this seriously. “
The declaration put the National Guard on standby while nearly 6,000 utility crews stood ready to restore power if necessary, Hochel said.
“The good news may be that we don’t expect the high winds that would normally bring power lines down,” she added. “We are so accustomed to this kind of storm. We don’t love it, but it is part of who we are as New Yorkers, especially western New York and the North Country. And we’re ready to be ready for any scenario.”