‘It just keeps coming and coming’: Lake-effect snow will dump another foot or two of snow in parts of the US

by Ashley R. Williams, Sarah Dewberry, Zenebu Sylla and Dakin AndoneCNN

Post-Thanksgiving travel will be hazardous in parts of the Great Lakes region due to several feet of lake-effect snow and bitterly cold temperatures across much of the United States.

More than two million people upwind of Lakes Michigan, Erie and Ontario remain under snow warnings, with heavy snow already reported this weekend in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York state.

Parts of western New York have received nearly four feet of snow over the past few days, according to the Weather Forecast Center. A lake effect warning for much of western New York ends Sunday night into Monday, but it has been extended for northeastern Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania until Tuesday morning.

The cold will continue as nearly 70 percent of the continental US will experience cold temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius over the next few days. Some cities, including New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Cincinnati, will experience below average temperatures throughout the week.

Homeowners in Erie, Pennsylvania, shoveled large piles of snow and used snow plows to clear mounds from their driveways and driveways Saturday, according to footage from CNN affiliate WICU.

“Yesterday I was shoveling for four hours and today I’ve been here for about an hour,” Erie resident and native Richard Korytowski told WICU as he excavated the driveway.

“I was hoping for a shovel,” he said, “but not much.”

Lake-effect snow occurs when cold, wind-driven air flows over a not-so-cold lake – in this case, the Great Lakes, where the water is record-warm.

Eleven New York counties in western and central New York are under a state of emergency that Governor Cathy Hochul issued on Friday. The announcement applies to Erie County, where Amherst officials issued a code blue alert over the weekend, urging anyone needing shelter from the bitter cold to call for help.

“My administration is working around the clock to respond to the snowstorm in Western New York and upstate,” Hochul told Saturday X. “Our state agencies and more than 100 National Guard soldiers are on the ground to support storm operations.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has also called out his state’s National Guard to help stranded drivers and ensure first responders can get to anyone trapped, he told X.

Winter weather arrives just as millions of Thanksgiving celebrants across the country begin to travel home. But throughout the affected region, post-holiday travel will be “very difficult or impossible” for some motorists, with forecasters urging people to stay off the roads as whiteout conditions make driving “treacherous and potentially dangerous,” according to the National Weather Service office. in Buffalo, New York.

Forecasters predict that an arctic cold snap moving south from Canada will send temperatures across much of the eastern half of the United States 8 to 14 degrees below average by the middle of next week.

“High temperatures are expected to be 10 to 20 degrees (F) below average Sunday and Monday from the Northern Plains to the Ohio Valley, with temperatures 10 to 20 degrees (F) below average extending further southeast along the greater parts of the East Coast through Monday,” the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center said.

Lake effect snow to dump another foot or two of snow

Parts of Pennsylvania, northern Ohio and western New York could see an additional 30 to 60 cm of snow on Tuesday. According to CNN meteorologists, Watertown, New York, could get an additional 30 to 60 cm of snow.

“The heaviest snow is expected downwind of Lakes Erie and Lake Ontario, affecting areas from northeast Ohio, far northwest Pennsylvania, western New York and parts of northwestern New York,” the Weather Prediction Center said.

In northeastern Pennsylvania, Erie County recorded just over 4 inches of snow between Thursday night and Saturday afternoon, while Erie, Pennsylvania, received 3 inches. According to the weather service, in the New York cities of Barnes Corners and Copenhagen, 117 cm of snow fell by Sunday morning.

In Ashtabula County, Ohio, resident Ashley Drew posted video of Connaught’s home disappearing under a blanket of snow Saturday, with the blue front door only partially visible as the snow continues to fall.

According to the National Weather Service in Cleveland, parts of the county on the shores of Lake Erie received about 101 cm of snow, and another 30 to 53 cm could fall by Tuesday morning.

Cathy Davis, a resident of Tug Hill in upstate New York, described Saturday’s heavy snow as “the good old winter” in a video clip she shared with CNN affiliate WWNY.

“It’s something I remember from my childhood,” Davis said, according to WWNY. “It just keeps coming and coming.”

Weather forecasters warn of difficult driving, lack of visibility

Matt Eisert, 58, of Columbus, Ohio, said he was visiting his father in Erie, Pennsylvania, for Thanksgiving when his parents’ home was surrounded by heavy snow.

The realtor still plans to return to Columbus on Sunday for a trip he’s well-prepared for.

“I have blankets in the car, water, some protein bars. I always stock up and have a little survival kit in the car,” Eisert said.

Traffic cameras showed snowy conditions over highways in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York on Saturday.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has closed several roads in Erie County as officials continue cleanup efforts. The department also lowered the speed limit to 45 mph on portions of I-86 and I-90 in Erie County, while other roads remain closed to certain types of vehicles, including school buses, tractors and motorcycles.

“Stay home, stay put, stay safe. Travel only when necessary,” Erie County Executive Brenton Davis said at a news conference Sunday, where he called the storm a “snowmageddon event.”

Davis praised the coordination between local and state agencies, including the Pennsylvania National Guard, which is ready to help stranded drivers, first responders and anyone who needs to be taken to a warm shelter.

According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, several roads are closed due to debris, and officials are urging drivers to use caution on slick, snowy roads.

The Ohio Department of Transportation in Akron said 25 crews were working around the clock in Ashtabula County, where the commission declared a state of emergency Saturday, the county board posted on Facebook.

New York State Department of Transportation crews worked through the night to clear roads covered in heavy snow in Chautauqua and Jefferson counties, where motorists were also asked to stay home to give crews room to work. All commercial vehicles are prohibited on sections of I-90 in New York City until further notice.

In Buffalo, the National Weather Service issued an emergency message Saturday: “Postpone all travel. If you must travel, drive with extreme caution.” A snow warning remains in effect for Buffalo until Monday night.

Meanwhile, snow covered the field at Highmark Outdoor Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, where the Buffalo Bills are scheduled to play the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.

The Bills began asking fans for help on Friday to clear the field of snow before the start of the game. Erie County officials in New York said Friday that they do not expect the snowy weather to affect the game.

According to the New York State Weather Risk Communications Center, lake-like snow is likely to fall over Orchard Park by 4 p.m. ET (10 a.m. ET Monday).

CNN’s Lauren Mascarenhas, Gene Norman, Allison Chinchar, Artemis Moshtaghian, Taylor Galgano and Sam Joseph contributed to this report.

– CNN