More Than 3 Feet of Snow Buries Parts of Western New York (PHOTOS)

Linda Lam
Published: February 11,2016
More than 3 feet of lake-effect snow had fallen south of Lake Ontario by Thursday morning, and snow was still falling into the afternoon.
A few notable snow totals reported in western New York as of Thursday morning:

• Mexico: 37 inches
• Parish: 37 inches
• Southeast of Minetto: 33.2 inches
• Hastings: 32 inches
• Oswego: 32 inches

A west-northwesterly flow of cold air has brought the hefty snowfall totals to the area. This flow will continue across the lower Great Lakes into Thursday evening, which will allow lake-effect snow bands to remain southeast of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Winds will turn more southwesterly tonight and into Friday and will shift the lake-effect snow band farther north.

Snowfall Forecast

The National Weather Service has issued a lake-effect snow warning until early Friday morning for some locations off Lake Ontario, where 4 to 7 inches of additional snow is possible Thursday and sustained winds of 15 to 25 mph are expected. The combination of the snow and wind may drop visibilities to as low as half a mile at times, making travel difficult.
(FORECASTS: Syracuse, New York | Buffalo, New York | Erie, Pennsylvania)
A lake-effect snow warning is also in effect off of portions of Lake Erie, where 4 to 8 inches of snow is possible Thursday. Winds may also gust up to 35 mph which could lower visibilities to a quarter mile at times, leading to hazardous driving conditions.
There is also a lake-effect snow watch for late Thursday night through Friday evening as another round of lake-effect snow is expected to develop. Included in this watch area is Buffalo, where light to moderate snow is possible Friday.
Lake-effect snow is produced when cold winds flow over warmer waters of the Great Lakes. Moisture is picked up from the lake and the result is the formation of clouds and lake-effect snow bands. Where the snow falls, as well as how much, is determined by the direction of the winds, as well as the difference in temperatures between the cold air and the warmer lake water.
(MORE: Great Lakes' Lake-Effect Snowfall Records)
Lake-effect snow is common to the east and southeast of the Great Lakes and sometimes the snow is very heavy, especially if the wind direction is persistent for a long period of time.
MORE: Microscopic Snowflakes (PHOTOS)