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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — With accumulations expected to be measured in feet by Sunday evening, Western New York is under a Lake Effect Snow Warning this weekend.
Latest forecast information is available here.
A state of emergency is in effect for the region, allowing New York State to provide snow removal and safety support to counties and municipalities responding to the lake effect storm.
Saturday 1:30 p.m. Update: Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown announced the travel ban will transition to a travel advisory at 2 p.m. Saturday for East, West and North Buffalo. The travel ban remains in place in South Buffalo. In the areas where the travel ban is being lifted, the mayor said progress has been made in clearing main and secondary roads and crews will shift to side streets. In South Buffalo, the city has about 70 pieces of equipment on hand to haul snow out because there is too much snow to plow.
Saturday 12:30 p.m. Update: A travel advisory has been issued for the City of Niagara Falls. Officials say there should be no unnecessary travel at this time and ask residents to follow overnight parking regulations.
Saturday noon Update: As part of the City of Buffalo 2022-2023 snow plan there is a GPS system to track where its DPW plows are and where they have been. On Saturday morning a city spokesperson announced Citizens Insight Mapping System is having issues in reporting completed streets and the city is working to correct it. In addition, the spokesperson said state, county and private contractor plows are assisting in plowing city streets and the GPS system does not show their activity. “Residents should continue to call the 311 Call and Resolution Center to report areas of concern. The full number for 311 is 716-851-4890.”
Saturday 9 a.m. Update: A trained spotter has measured 77 inches of snow in Orchard Park.
WOWWWW! Check this out. Trained spotter in #OrchardPark at 77" of snow from the this storm! #LakeEffectSnow @wkbw #BuffaloSnow2022 pic.twitter.com/o220CSGN0X
The City of Buffalo has opened warming shelters in addition to those opened Friday by Erie County. You can find a full list of warming shelters here.
Saturday 8 a.m. Update: A travel advisory that had been in place for Wyoming County has been lifted as of 7:45 a.m.
The NFTA is suspending bus service until further notice, affecting all routes. The Metro will continue to operate on a limited basis, and paratransit is not suspended. However, the NFTA is asking paratransit riders to reschedule if possible.
Saturday 6 a.m. Update: The Buffalo metro area saw significant snowfall overnight. A travel ban is in place for the entire City of Buffalo.
BREAKING UPDATE:
Travel BAN now in effect for all of #Buffalo@wkbw pic.twitter.com/REK7C1hkXi
Friday 9:00 p.m. Update: Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz stressed that employers located within the travel ban area (south of Downtown Buffalo, William Street) cannot force employees to come to work, unless they are deemed an essential worker.
Reminder to all employers: if your business is in a driving ban area or your employees are located in a driving ban area, it is illegal to make them come into work.
Additionally, no other deaths have been reported since two males died earlier Friday afternoon from cardiac arrests during the storm.
Friday 4:30 p.m. Update: As of 3 p.m. Friday Hamburg had received 37 inches of snow. Below you can see the difference between what it looked like at 8 a.m. compared to 4:30 p.m.
HAMBURG: 8am vs 430pm@wkbw @Ginger_Zee #SeeIton7 pic.twitter.com/uuRGKo36TN
Friday 3:30 p.m. Update: Erie County officials announced a state of emergency has been declared in Erie County, City of Buffalo, City of Lackawanna, Town of Amherst, Town of Cheektowaga, Town of Clarence, Town of Evans, Town of Hamburg, Town of Orchard Park, Town of Tonawanda, Village of Angola, Village of Blasdell, Village of Depew, Village of Hamburg, Village of Lancaster and Village of Orchard Park.
The county announced it has contracted several agencies to help with snow removal and assisting vehicles that are stuck. Several additional pieces of equipment have also been brought in to assist.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz also announced two deaths have been reported that are associated with the storm. Two males suffered cardiac events associated with shoveling and snow blowing. Poloncarz also said there was a partial building collapse in the Town of Hamburg and other issues arising from the heavy wet snow.
AAA says anyone who is stranded in a vehicle should call 911 because in many cases, police are turning its trucks away for safety reasons to avoid more gridlock.
A Wegmans spokesperson announced its location on McKinley Parkway closed at 3 p.m. Friday and will remain closed until 4 p.m. Saturday due to the snow. A release says the following, “this will allow our maintenance team to focus on snow removal. We look forward to welcoming our employees and customers back to the store tomorrow.”
Friday 11:30 a.m. Update: The NFTA announced it will resume bus service in areas that are outside of the travel ban in Erie County at noon Friday.
Friday 9 a.m. Update: The University at Buffalo has announced Saturday’s football game between the University at Buffalo and the University of Akron is being postponed. The women’s basketball game against Princeton, also scheduled for Saturday, is canceled and will not be rescheduled.
Friday 8 a.m. Update: As of Friday morning, there are more than 400 organizations, schools and businesses closed across Western New York. Parts of southern Erie County are without power. In an announcement at 6 a.m. and a tweet by County Executive Mark Poloncarz at 8 a.m., Erie County lifted travel bans for parts of the county based on clear roads. Find the latest updates on travel bans and advisories in the information below, updated throughout the day.
Travel Bans and Advisories
Travel BAN: Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Lancaster, Alden, West Seneca, Elma, Marilla, Lackawanna, Hamburg, Orchard Park, Aurora & East Aurora, Wales, Evan, Eden, and Boston
Travel bans were reduced to advisories for the rest of Erie County on Friday morning, including Grand Island, the Tonawandas, Amherst, Clarence, Newstead, Colden, Holland, Brant, North Collins, Collins, Concord and Sardinia.
The travel advisory in Dunkirk has been lifted as of 1:30 p.m. Friday.
Road Closures
Latest Snow Total Graphic
Saturday 12 a.m.:
Power outages
As of Saturday morning, about 300 customers across Western New York without power.
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