New York Snow Visibility Will Drop To Near Zero In Parts Of Upstate New York Hammered By Lake Induced Snow

  Parts of New York state are reeling Thursday from a blizzard that could close roads and paralyze cities for days.   

  “This event will have the very real potential to produce a crippling snowfall that could be measured in feet for the Buffalo and Watertown metro areas,” the National Weather Service in Buffalo said.   

  The severe snowstorm began on Wednesday and is expected to cause difficult road conditions until at least the end of the week.   

  “Visibility will drop to near zero at times and roads will be covered in snow making travel hazardous to near impossible,” the National Weather Service said.   

  Wednesday night’s storm had already dropped 10 inches of snow in South Wales, about 25 miles southeast of Buffalo.  The nearby town of Colden was hit with more than 8 inches of snow, the weather service said.   

  And the worst is yet to come.   

  The heaviest snow is expected to begin Thursday afternoon and last through Friday, with more periods of heavy snow over the weekend, the weather service said.   

  “This is going to be a very long-lasting and significant lake-effect snow event east of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario,” National Weather Service meteorologist John Hitchcock told CNN.   

  Areas downwind of Lakes Erie and Ontario could be hit by thunder and lightning on top of the snowfall.   

  Several feet of snow are also forecast Thursday and Friday for the Buffalo and Watertown areas of New York and northwestern Pennsylvania, the National Weather Service said.   

  Snow could fall at a rate of 3 inches per hour in some places, with snow accumulations of up to 4 feet in some areas.   

  Parts of Indiana and northeast Ohio have already received more than a foot of snow, CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said.   

  And more than 5 million people around the Great Lakes are under snow warnings Thursday.   

  Areas are hammered by lake-induced snow – what happens when very cold and windy conditions build up over a not-so-cold lake.   

  A lake, for example, can be around 40 degrees, while the air temperature can be well below zero.   

  “That difference in temperatures creates some instability and the water provides a source of moisture,” CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said.  “When it gets over the ground, it deposits water vapor as snow.”   

  Commercial traffic will be prohibited from 4 p.m.  on Thursday about 130 miles from the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90) in the Rochester and Buffalo area to the Pennsylvania border, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said.   

  Residents should take precautions — and look out for each other, the state’s emergency services chief urged.   

  “Don’t underestimate this storm,” said Jackie Bray, commissioner of the New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.   

  “We should all check on our neighbors, especially vulnerable neighbors, to help them prepare for the winter weather in the forecast.”   

  New York’s governor plans to declare a state of emergency on Thursday, he said.   

  “My team and I are developing emergency response assets ahead of the storm, staying in constant contact with local officials and laser-focused on the forecast,” Hochul said in a press release.   

  “New Yorkers should remain vigilant ahead of the storm and avoid any unnecessary travel in these dangerous conditions.”