Feet of lake-effect snow pile up across Great Lakes as dangerous whiteout snarl travel

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The fierce lake-effect snowstorm is nearing its end across the Great Lakes. Heavy snow continues to pummel areas east of lakes Erie and Ontario, but relief is on the horizon as the storm is expected to weaken by Friday evening.

Cars drive in near whiteout lake-effect snow on Interstate 79 on December 12, 2024 in Erie, Pennsylvania.

(Jeff Swensen / Getty Images)

Eden, New York, has been buried under over 3.5 feet of snow since Thursday, while other surrounding areas have received over 2.5 feet. The combination of strong winds and heavy snowfall has led to dangerous travel conditions and prompted a state of emergency in parts of New York state.

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Off Lake Ontario, the band of heavy snow will swing south, crossing the Tug Hill region and ending up in northern, or even central Oswego County by Friday morning. The band should then remain in place mainly over northern Oswego County later Friday through Friday evening, gradually shrinking back to the lakeshore before ending Saturday, the FOX Forecast Center said.

WHAT IS LAKE-EFFECT SNOW?

Friday will be quite the change off Lake Erie from what we saw Thursday. The band weakened substantially overnight, with snowfall rates falling to less than 1 inch per hour before daybreak over Chautauqua County. The FOX Forecast Center said some light snow may linger across Chautauqua County on Friday, but this will be light and should end completely later in the day.

Orchard Park, New York, located downwind of Lake Erie, has received 30 inches of snow since Thursday. The city has also issued a local state of emergency and implemented a driving ban.

“Town Highway and Village (Department of Public Works) crews have been working throughout the night (Thursday) to remove snow from roadways,” police said in a Facebook post. “Our 911 center and police personnel are handling an increasing number of calls for service. Please adhere to the driving ban as we all work collectively to keep our community safe.”

This image shows chaos on the roads in Hamburg, New York, as a lake-effect snowstorm pounds the region on Dec. 12, 2024.

(Brandon Copic / FOX Weather)

Video captured at Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport on Thursday showed planes waiting to be de-iced during heavy snowfall.

There were also reports of rare thundersnow in the Watertown, New York, area. Thundersnow is when thunder and lightning are observed while precipitation falls in the frozen variety. Similar to thunderstorms, thundersnow requires a significant amount of atmospheric instability, and in areas where the phenomenon occurs, snowfall rates can be exceptionally heavy.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said he was advised that local states of emergency have also been declared in towns across western New York, including Brant and Evans. Travel bans were implemented due to poor visibility. Poloncarz said an Erie County Department of Public Works plow truck drove off the road on Route 20 in the Evans and Hamburg areas. That driver was not injured.

Exclusive FOX Weather Storm Tracker Corey Gerken was in Hamburg on Thursday morning and said it was the heaviest snowfall he’d seen in the area in quite a while.

“Everyone is getting stuck on the roads,” he said. “It’s a complete nightmare out here.”

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Traveling in these conditions was bad enough, but the intensity of the snowfall made it even more treacherous.

“It’s snowing so heavy out here that you actually can’t, like, tell where the road is at,” Gerken said. “Usually, every time I’ve covered snow over here, they’ve done a pretty good job at keeping up with the roads. So, this is actually the first I’ve ever seen them this bad here in Hamburg.” 

But New York wasn’t the only one impacted. A 24-foot big rig lost control in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, crashing into three fire trucks and a police cruiser. Thankfully, no first responders were injured, and the driver suffered only minor injuries.

Erie, Pennsylvania, records 6th-highest 4-day snowfall total

Travel impacts have also been reported across portions of Pennsylvania, including some commercial travel bans on I-86 between I-90 and the New York state line and the entire length of I-90 from the Ohio state line to the New York state line.

The FOX Forecast Center said Erie experienced its 6th-highest 4-day snowfall total on record and has been under winter weather alerts for 80% of the past 16 days.

DRIVING ON THE ICE AND DRIVING IN THE SNOW: WEATHER DRIVING TIPS FOR DRIVING IN INCLEMENT WEATHER

FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell has been in Erie and shared a timelapse video showing bands of lake-effect snow impacting the region.