An arctic blast hit the northern Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes on Saturday, putting millions of Americans under freeze warnings.
More than 17 million people were under National Weather Service winter warnings Saturday, including 3.6 million under lake-effect snow warnings, 4.5 million under ice warnings, 8.5 million under winter weather warnings and 1 million under frost advisories. received.
The affected region included the Great Lakes and Central Plains to the Appalachian Mountains, with most of the freeze warnings concentrated in the Southeast.
The National Weather Service warned that an arctic air mass is bringing the coldest temperatures since last winter. Wind chills are expected to drop below freezing in the northern Plains and upper Midwest Saturday morning. Parts of North Dakota could experience wind chills of -30 to -40 degrees, the agency said.
The ice air mass is also contributing to severe lake-effect snow that disrupts travel in the lee of the Great Lakes in northeastern Ohio, far northwestern Pennsylvania, western New York, and parts of northwestern New York, the federal government said. weather forecasters said.
The heaviest snowfall will be east of Lake Ontario, where some isolated areas around Watertown, New York, could receive up to 60 inches of lake-effect snow by early next week, the NWS said. .
According to the National Weather Service, lake-effect snow occurs when a cold air mass moves south from Canada and over the relatively warm Great Lakes, rapidly drawing some of the lake water into the atmosphere and forming fertile clouds. , it is said to occur when snow occurs at a rate of 2 to 1/2. Over 3 inches per hour.
Late Saturday, Watertown International Airport measured only a fraction of an inch of precipitation for the day, and the National Weather Service reported that the snowpack was 4 to 7 inches deep across the city. More severe snow is still falling, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
The long-range forecast for Watertown on Saturday called for a “100% chance of rain.” “Overnight snow totals could be 15 to 21 inches.”
Gusty winds could cause snowstorms, snowstorms, isolated power outages, and near-whiteout conditions with significantly reduced visibility.
Gov. Cathy Hochul warned New Yorkers Saturday to avoid unnecessary travel. Hochul said in a statement that more than 100 National Guard troops were deployed to Western New York “to support the community.”
“Please heed travel advisories and take care of each other,” she said.
Interstate 90 in western New York state reopened to passenger traffic Saturday afternoon after being closed Friday due to snow closures in nearby Pennsylvania, Hochul announced.
He said on social media platform X that commercial truck traffic remains prohibited in both directions on the west end of the interstate near Exit 46.
A day earlier, the governor declared a state of emergency in several counties, including Erie and Oswego counties. At times, snowfall can be as dramatic as 3 to 4 inches per hour and may be accompanied by thunderstorms, a rare weather phenomenon that combines snowstorms and thunder, creating hazardous travel conditions .
New York Attorney General Letitia James warns retailers that selling essential goods and services at excessively high prices during an emergency violates state law and calls for reports of price gouging during the Arctic outbreak. residents were encouraged to do so.
“As New Yorkers face heavy snow and dangerous conditions during the busiest tourist weekend of the year, we are making sure that businesses have access to the supplies they need to stay safe without going up on prices,” he said in a statement Saturday. We should be able to put it in,” he said.
As of Friday night, more than 20 inches of snow had already fallen along the shores of Lake Erie in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, the NWS said. Video from Saturday morning showed roads in Ashtabula, Ohio, covered in snow, making it difficult for drivers to pass.
Erie, Pennsylvania, received 30 inches of snow, the highest snowfall ever, the agency said. Up to 6 feet of snow could accumulate on the ground in northern Erie County, Pennsylvania, by Tuesday, federal forecasters said.
A power outage occurred Friday night at Philadelphia International Airport’s Terminal D, affecting nearly 40 flights, but none were cancelled. Power was restored at the terminal on Saturday afternoon.
More than 8,400 utility customers in Pennsylvania and New York were in the dark late Saturday, according to power company tracking firm PowerOutage.us.
Also on Saturday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a disaster declaration that will allow his office to help those affected by lake-effect snow get immediate response and recovery funds, according to a statement. It is said that
He said more than a dozen Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers were assisting the Erie County Emergency Operations Center with the mission of rescuing stranded motorists and moving abandoned, crashed, and otherwise disabled vehicles. He said he was assigned.
The Cleveland Weather Service announced Saturday that more than a foot of lake-effect snow could continue to fall in parts of the region from noon Sunday to 7 a.m. Tuesday. Starting Sunday morning, multiple lake-effect snow bands, which are concentrations of snow often carried by winds associated with widespread storm fronts, are expected across northeastern Ohio, including Cleveland, the agency said. .
Further travel disruptions are holding up post-Thanksgiving travel plans, especially along Interstate 90 between Cleveland and Buffalo. Social media videos taken Friday showed drivers stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic during a snowstorm on the interstate.
Storm totals of up to 3 to 6 feet are expected through Monday, continuing to impact travel between Cleveland and Buffalo.
Buffalo Mayor Christopher P. Scanlon said the city is prepared for the snow.
“I can tell you that the city of Buffalo is preparing for the weather that’s going to happen, not just today, but over the coming days and weeks,” he said at a news conference Saturday.
He said the city has opened three warming centers that will be open 24 hours a day for the time being for people who need warmth and shelter.
The National Weather Service said travel “could be very difficult or impossible” in locations downwind of the Great Lakes.
The Sunday Night Football matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills could be buried in snow since Highmark Stadium is located in Orchard Park. At Orchard Park, distances of 12 to 18 inches are expected to occur, and even higher amounts are possible.
The Buffalo Bills posted a post on X on Friday asking their loyal fans, known as the “Bills Mafia,” to sign up to shovel snow from the stadium.
The National Weather Service in Cheektowaga, New York, which covers Buffalo, announced Saturday that a band of lake-effect snow was active in Buffalo’s Southtown, accumulating up to 2 feet of snow and making travel “very dangerous.”
New York State Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said at a news conference that the south-central part of the region is likely to be hit the hardest, with the bulk of the snow falling on Saturday and Sunday. Poloncarz said the central part of the county could see 2 to 3 feet of snow, while the southern part of the county could see more than 3 feet of snow.
Meanwhile, residents across the South from Texas to the Carolinas woke up Friday and froze their clocks and warnings as the influence of an arctic air mass reached the Sunbelt.
An active lake-effect snow event covering the leeward regions of the Great Lakes is expected to abate early next week. But forecasters warned that colder air was still heading south as an arctic air mass spilled south from Canada.
