A major snowstorm barreling toward New York is bringing tons of snow to cities all across the East Coast.
On Friday morning the National Weather Service (NWS) issued lake effect snow warnings for several counties in upstate New York, predicting significant snowfall through the weekend. Lake effect snow occurs when cold air, often originating from Canada, moves across the open waters of the Great Lakes, Newsweek reported.
Up to 5 feet (64 inches) of snow could fall in Watertown, New York, this weekend the NWS forecasted. Meanwhile, 3 to 4 feet is expected in western Chautauqua and southern Erie counties, as well as southeastern and southwestern St. Lawrence, and 1 to 2 feet in Buffalo, Allegany County and Genesee County on Saturday.
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The heavy snowfall could make travel dangerous, particularly during Thanksgiving week. “Travel will be very difficult to impossible with deep snow cover on roads and extremely poor visibility. The hazardous conditions will impact the Friday morning and evening commutes,” the NSW said on its website.
But snowfall will continue well into the weekend, and by Sunday heavy snow will likely move south into Oswego County. “This is going to be a long-fused event,” NWS Buffalo lead forecaster Kirk Apffel told FOX Weather.
“We’re looking for Friday through at least Monday, there’s going to be snow in the area.” The warnings are in place from 7 a.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Monday. This comes as icy and snowy weather is gripping much of the country.
Earlier this week the NWS issued warnings for 13 states: Colorado, California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Vermont, Michigan, Alaska, New York, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire and New Mexico. Winter storms have ravaged huge swath of US.
Last Saturday a person was reportedly found dead in a vehicle in floodwaters in California, a state that’s now bracing for a storm in the Sierra Nevada region, which has a winter storm warning in effect until Tuesday.
On Thursday Southeastern U.S. was on high alert for a series of storms forecasted to sweep the region on Thanksgiving Day, according to a post from the NWS. The weather service warned that Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia should prep for potential fierce weather.
According to the NWS statement, “Isolated to scattered strong to severe storms are expected today into Thanksgiving! Make sure to have multiple ways to receive warnings. Maybe bring along a NOAA weather radio along with that pie for Thanksgiving to keep everyone informed! ” residents in these areas are urged to stay vigilant.
Meanwhile, freezing temperatures are expected in the Northern Plains states this weekend, Newsweek reported. In some parts of North Dakota, wind chill temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero are expected, with low temperatures forecast to be around 10 degrees below zero, a far cry from the region’s typical low temperatures for this time of year, which are usually in the teens.
“The cold blast will feel like January and will deliver a significant shock to hundreds of millions of people who may have gotten used to warm conditions during much of the autumn,” AccuWeather lead long-range meteorologist Paul Pastelok said earlier this week.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, meteorologist Ryan Maue wrote on Wednesday that about two thirds of the U.S. population will be “freezing or colder” this weekend.
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