Lake-effect snow to spawn whiteout in Upper Midwest, Northeast

By Alex Sosnowski , AccuWeather senior meteorologist

December 7,2016, 10:56:48PM,EST

 

 As is often the case, conditions will vary tremendously within a short distance.

"In the heaviest snow bands, there will be whiteout conditions," according to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams. "However, just a few miles away the sky can be sunny and travel just fine."
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The variable weather conditions can be especially hazardous for those traveling on highways. Motorists moving along at a high speed should expect conditions to change from dry roads with excellent visibility one minute to blizzard conditions the next.
Wind direction is a key player with the position of lake-effect snow. The snow bands will align with the winds. As the winds shift from southwest to west and then northwest, the bands of snow will shift with the wind.

The I-90 corridor will be the most affected from Indiana to Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York state. Other major highways where motorists could face highly variable weather conditions include portions of I-75, I-79, I-80, I-81 and I-196.
"Widespread bands of snow will develop off of lakes Superior and Michigan and extend across northern and western Michigan during Wednesday night and continue into Friday," Travis said.
The bands of snow will expand southward from the western part of the lower Michigan Peninsula to northwestern Indiana beginning on Thursday.

"Farther to the east, during Thursday, lake-effect snow will become heavy and impact the metro area of Buffalo and the city of Watertown, New York, before tapering off," Travis said.
During Thursday afternoon into Friday night, the bands of snow off of lakes Erie and Ontario will shift southward. Snow will extend into ski country region of western New York, as well as northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.
Lake-effect snow will reach Erie, Pennsylvania, and as far to the southwest as Cleveland. Snow from Lake Ontario will shift from the Tug Hill Plateau to central New York state.
"Bursts of snow will extend across central New York state from Syracuse and Rochester to Binghamton during Friday and Friday night," Travis said.
"From Thursday to Friday, we expect intermittent snow and a heavier snow squall or two in the central Appalachians as far to the south as West Virginia," Abrams said.
A couple of flurries can extend as far to the east as the I-95 corridor of the mid-Atlantic on Friday.