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THUNDERSNOW: Videos show historic lake-effect storm blanket Buffalo in 6 inches of snow

National Weather Service has explained that the weather conditions are expected to worsen over the weekend

BUFFALO, NEW YORK: The city of Buffalo was engulfed by a 3-inch-per-hour snowfall rate and "thundersnow" on Thursday night, November 17. As per reports, 6 inches of snow had already covered Buffalo by 10 pm, and by the time the historic lake-effect storm system is expected to go down, the city will already be buried under several feet of snow. The weather conditions also moved Buffalo Bills out of town to go play against Cleaveland Browns in Detroit. 

National Weather Service has explained that the weather conditions are expected to worsen from Friday and then Saturday into Saturday. NWS also reported that 200 miles east of Buffalo over 24 inches of snow was already recorded. In the wake of such events, Governor of New York Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for the 11 counties saying, "I am declaring a State of Emergency effective tomorrow morning. We are deploying emergency assets & are in constant contact with local officials. New Yorkers: Remain vigilant & avoid unnecessary travel during hazardous conditions." NWS Buffalo shared, "The beginning at NWS Buffalo. We just measured 3.1" of snow in the past hour with this first burst of heavy lake-effect snow. #nywx"

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All commercial traffic was banned along the 132-mile stretch of the New York State Thruway from Rochester, New York, to the Pennsylvania border on Thursday at 4 pm. Elyse Smith, an award-winning weekday Meteorologist shared crucial information on Twitter saying, "First measurement of this lake effect event for downtown #Buffalo from #RooftopWeather: 4.5 inches of snow has fallen since about 7:30 pm... there’s that 2 inch an hour snowfall rate. @WGRZ @NWSBUFFALO #StormTeam2 #nywx" Many people took to their social media to share the thundersnow in Buffalo showing the city covered entirely in snow. 

NWS has further explained that the excessive now will produce near zero visibility effectively paralyzing traveling. Lake Effect snow occurs when cold air travels over the unfrozen and relatively warm waters resulting in the transferring of warmth and moisture into the lowest portion of the atmosphere. As the air rises, clouds form and grow into a narrow band that produces 2 to 3 inches of snow per hour or more, which is exactly what Buffalo is dealing with right now. Wind direction plays a major role in this phenomenon as one side of the location could be drowning in snow and the other side could be sunbathing. 

Erie County's Executive Mark Poloncarz announced, "Due to the imminent storm, a State of Emergency has been declared for Erie County. A Driving Ban will be in effect for ALL of Erie County as of 9 PM. Only those authorized for emergency travel are to drive. We will reevaluate the location of the Driving Ban tomorrow morning." 

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