Watch: Feet of lake-effect snow piles up along Great Lakes paralyzing travel, prompting states of emergency

ERIE, Pa. – A high-impact lake-effect snowstorm has brought feet of snow to communities along the Great Lakes from Michigan to New York, and another foot or more of snow is likely to fall in some of those same communities by the time the paralyzing event concludes early this week. 

This has made travel impossible on roadways across the region as millions try to get home after the Thanksgiving holiday.

The issues began Friday along the Interstate 90 corridor, east of Cleveland, where FOX Weather Exclusive Storm Tracker Brandon Copic observed vehicles becoming stuck and visibility severely reduced.

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Near-whiteout conditions were also reported near the New York-Pennsylvania state line as holiday shoppers ventured out in search of deals.

In response to the winter weather event, New York authorities temporarily closed parts of I-90 as heavy snowfall overwhelmed snowplow crews. 

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro declared states of emergency for the areas near lakes Erie and Ontario and activated National Guard troops as crews braced for the long-duration event.

Transportation cameras along I-90 captured video of vehicles temporarily stranded along the thoroughfare before being escorted off the roadway.

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As of Monday morning, snowfall measurements reached 65.5 inches in Barnes Corners, New York, east of Lake Ontario. The town of Erie, Pennsylvania, set an all-time daily snowfall record at 22.6 inches Friday, with storm totals reaching 42.5 inches by Sunday night.

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A forecast from the National Weather Service office in Buffalo, New York, called for more than 6 feet of snowfall through Monday in the Watertown area, east of Lake Ontario.

Highmark Stadium, situated in Orchard Park, was under a Lake-Effect Snow Warning for Sunday night’s San Francisco 49ers vs. Buffalo Bills game. Weather observers measured storm totals of nearly 23 inches of snow by Sunday morning. 

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FOX Weather Storm Specialist Mike Seidel said that, unlike recent snow events, not much of the powder will melt due to an arctic blast encompassing most of the eastern half of the country.

The cold temperatures will likely keep much of the wintry precipitation intact until another storm system brings the possibility of more lake-enhanced snowfall during the second half of the workweek.

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Through the first 24 hours of the winter weather event, Girard, Pennsylvania, reported 25.7 inches of snowfall, while Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, recorded 23 inches.

Another video shared by Copic showed snowplows hard at work in Fairview, Pennsylvania, on Sunday morning, working to clear the snow from U.S. Highway 20.

Lake-effect snowstorm produces rare thundersnow, waterspouts

It wasn’t only the epic snow totals during the long-duration lake-effect snowstorm that has raised eyebrows, as both rare thundersnow and waterspouts have been observed.

Both weather phenomena are considered rare during the cold-weather season, but given the amount of warm air and atmospheric instability at the start of the event, both were distinct possibilities along the lakes.

In late 2022, a “once-in-a-generation” blizzard knocked out power to thousands and was linked to the deaths of at least 47 people in the Buffalo metro area.

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Downtown Buffalo, NY on morning of December 26, 2022.

(Gov. Kathy Hochul / FOX Weather)

Emergency services believe that conditions will not be as extreme as the historic event and say they are better prepared to tackle the winter weather threat.