Lake-effect snow pummels New York, closes Thruway

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By CAROLYN THOMPSON

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Parts of New York are measuring the season's first big snowfall in feet, rather than inches, as 3 feet of lake-effect snow blanketed the Buffalo area Tuesday, forcing the closure of a 132-mile stretch of the state Thruway.

The waist-high snow blown by strong winds stopped even pedestrians in their tracks and motorists abandoned vehicles where they got stuck. National Weather Service meteorologist Tony Ansuini said the storm was dumping 3 to 4 inches of snow per hour.

"There are some significant main arterials in the community that are basically parking lots," said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who declared a state of emergency and issued driving bans for the southern section of Buffalo and more than a dozen suburbs.

The Thruway Authority said white-out conditions caused by wind gusts of more than 30 mph forced the closure of Interstate 90 in both directions from the Rochester area to Ripley, on the Pennsylvania border 60 miles southwest of Buffalo.

FULL story at link.



Heavy snow covers the street on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 in Buffalo, N.Y., Parts of New York are measuring the season's first big snowfall in feet, rather than inches, as nearly 3 feet blanketed the Buffalo area Tuesday, forcing the closure of a 105-mile stretch of the state Thruway. The National Weather Service says a foot to almost 3 feet of snow has fallen on areas south and east of the city. (AP Photo/ Carolyn Thompson)


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141118/us--wintry_weather-c246750bfd.html

[Historic NY]

1. Nothing they haven't seen before...

When it stops the Union employees of the NYS Thruway Authority will have the truway open and bare of snow.

[Earth_First]

4. Amen!

Nothing us WNY'ers cannot handle.

Our union employees dedicated to keeping our roadways clear and safe are some of the hardest-working employees the state has!

[Historic NY]

5. Been there done it and survived....

its almost like magic.

[rocktivity]

2. What's going on with that basketball team stuck outside of Buffalo?

(Tweet) @AltBentley @NiagaraWBB @Altbuffalo we r all hanging in there! We do need some water & food.
4:30 PM - 18 Nov 2014

rocktivity

[Earth_First]

3. It's outrageous!

We live 70 miles east of Buffalo, and we've barely 2"-3" during this event.

This very narrow band of lake-enhanced snow has been relentless over the past 24 hours, with nary an end in sight.

Forecasts that I have been following locally have the most intense snow ending sometime late Wednesday, where areas south of Buffalo, could be buried in nearly 70" by Thursday morning...that's nearly an entire SEASON worth of snow in Western New York.

Travel half the distance west towards Buffalo from our area, and it's nearly 20" of snow.

Lake snow is fascinating.

Once Erie freezes over, Buffalo will only experience the big Nor'easters that hit the east coast.

Here's a great link to some absolutely STUNNING photographs and a short video on the lake snows in Buffalo:

http://www.citylab.com/weather/2014/11/towering-wall-of-snow-sweeps-through-buffalo/382907/

[mak3cats]

8. In the belly of the beast here...

although, more like the esophagus area. I'm 5 to 10 miles north of the band, we've had blue skies all day, and I can still see my grass. Lake effect snow is a bizarre and wonderful thing!

[marmar]

6. My first job out of college was in Syracuse ......

...... and there were 163 inches of snow that winter.

I'm from southeast Michigan, so it's not like I've never experienced snow before, but we average somewhere near 40 inches in a season. When I arrived in Syracuse (in January), there were piles of snow as tall as buildings.

[valerief]

7. Holy shit. In some spots in NY, it's 4 feet and may reach 6 feet!!!

We surrender, global warming!

[amandabeech]

9. According to my aunt, the Grand Rapids-Grand Haven-Muskegon area

of western lower Michigan is also getting hammered. The area is right on Lake Michigan and often experiences Buffalo-type winters. This is early for them, though.

[freshwest]

10. Wow! Always been amazed at the 'lake effect snow.'

[UglyGreed]

11. Thank God

I'm on the Island!!! Be safe and bend your knees not your back to shovel!

[hedgehog]

12. There are complaints about the fact that there were people stranded on the Thruway,

but as near as I can make out, it's in the area from Ridge Rd (South Buffalo) to the exit after the toll barrier (Southtowns.)

The Thruway cameras didn't show much snow along most of the length that is closed, but there is concern that with the high winds, white-out conditions could pop up.

A lot of people in the Buffalo area want to know why anyone was stranded - people in the area knew this storm was on the way and stocked up over the week-end. My Dad said a dual tractor trailer jack-knifed and blocked the road. That may have been part of the problem.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

13. You can't get there from here.

Hat tip, Trainorders: Extent of Buffalo Blizzard

New York State Thruway Traveler Map

[happyslug]

14. The Lakes are still relatively warm, which is the problem

Remember this is a COLD WAVE carrying COLD AIR as a COLD wave over the Area. Cold Air are known NOT to carry much moisture. You need temperatures around freezing to get heavy snowfalls. Thus this cold wave of air when it hits the Lakes is heated up by the Lakes. This permits the air to carry more moisture. The Cold Front is still cold, but you get an increase in temperatures over the lakes. The problem is once the air flows over land, the Cold Front loses what heat it has and with the loss of heat goes the moisture in the form of snow.

Unlike a Northeastern or an Ohio River Storm (Both of which are products of Warm Fronts NOT Cold fronts) Lake Effect being a Cold Front Praenomina you do not get much snow to far from the Lakes. 40 miles is about the Max, through light snow gets as far east and south as the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania (Rarely more then a couple of Inches in those Mountains).

Northeasterners and Ohio River Storms are noted for bringing in huge snow falls over huge areas. Both are the product of Warm Fronts hitting Cold Air. Being Warm Fronts they carry a lot of moisture and dump a lot of snow over a huge area.

One of the main differences between the Lake Affect Snow produced by a Cold Front and the Snows produced by a Warm Front is Lake Affect Snows can last till spring for they are the product of Cold Air. Northeasterners and Ohio River Storms are products of Warm Fronts and thus the snow melts a few days latter as temperatures go up.

Northeasterners rarely get over the Appalachian Mountains, thus Buffalo rarely gets any affect of Northeasterners. I am less familiar with the rest of Up State New York, but I suspect the same for Up State New York, not much snow from Northeasterners, unlike areas East and South of Albany.

I live in Johnstown PA and I always bring up the story of one of the worse Northeasterners of the early 1990s for it shows the extent of such storm as far as the Appalachian Mountains are concerned. Bedford PA received 3 feet of snow, Johnstown on the other side of Allegheny Mountain received 3 INCHES of Snow and Pittsburgh received rain. That is a typical of Northeasterners and for this reason Philadelphia gets more heavy snowfalls then Pittsburgh, but Pittsburgh gets twice as much snow and can last much longer.

Philadelphia has on average 12 days of snow with an average of 22 inches (Just under 2 inches per day of snow), Pittsburgh has 40 days of snow with an annual average of 41 inches (One each per day of snow). This is the effect of Northeasterners on the East Coast, and those Ohio River Storms on Pittsburgh.

http://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Pennsylvania/annual-snowfall.php

The Gulf Stream is what drives Northeasterners up the East Coast but as the Gulf Stream turns East to Iceland it drags the Northeasterners with it. Thus Western New York and Western Pennsylvania are rarely affected by Northeasterners (and when they are it is relatively mild).

On the other hand those Ohio River Storms can dump Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania with three or more feet of snow. Buffalo sometimes gets affected by such storms but most lose their strength over the Appalachian Mountains.

Just a comment on the three types of storms that bring heavy snow to Pennsylvania and New York.