Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The latest round of lake effect snow to impact Western New York packed a bit of a punch on Thursday, especially during the morning commute across portions of Southern and Central Erie County.
The snow has resulted in several school districts being closed, drivers being stranded after sliding off the roadways, and travel bans being posted in several municipalities across Erie County.
CHECK: WBEN Closings
As of 1:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, travel bans are in effect for the towns of Aurora, Brant, Boston, Colden, Eden, Elma, Evans, Hamburg, Holland, North Collins, Orchard Park and Wales. This also includes the villages of Angola, Blasdell, East Aurora, Hamburg and Orchard Park.
Those travel bans are in effect until further notice.
Meanwhile, the rest of Southern and Central Erie County remains under a travel advisory, which includes South Buffalo
County officials ask residents to please stay off of the roads in areas where travel bans are in place, while travel is not advised in areas where travel advisories are in place.
Only two major roadways in Erie County are closed due the hazardous travel conditions across the region:
- Route 219 between the New York State Thruway (I-90) and Peters Road in Ashford.
- Route 400 from the Thruway to Route 16 in South Wales.
Meanwhile, a tandem and empty tractor trailer ban is in effect for the New York State Thruway from Exit 53 (I-190) all the way to the Pennsylvania border. The same ban is also in effect for I-86 from Route 219 in Cattaraugus County all the way to the Pennsylvania state line.
Some of the treacherous weather conditions Thursday morning resulted in several motorists sliding off the roadways, and being stranded in the piling snow.
"We have dozens of vehicles out stranded, and we have UTVs in that area, and a bunch of troopers called in for storm coverage assisting those motorists. Obviously, we want to get those vehicles out, we want to get the people safe, and that's the goal right now. But luckily, it is kind of an isolated area right now, so we can prioritize manpower in those specific regions," said New York State Police trooper James O'Callaghan in an appearance on WBEN.
In the Town of Orchard Park, police chief Patrick Fitzgerald says there were a considerable number of vehicles - both personal vehicles and commercial vehicles, tractor trailers - that were either stuck in the roads, or found themselves off the road or involved in accidents.
"We have a lot of vehicles that are blocking the roads," said Chief Fitzgerald during an appearance with David Bellavia on WBEN. "We have people that are calling that are in their cars, that are looking for help. And we're getting resources to them as quickly as possible. We do have two strike teams that have been set up and deployed that are a combination of police, fire and EMS personnel that are handling the priority calls."
Some of the snowfall totals to come in from the National Weather Service on Thursday indicated that Eden was one of the areas, once again, hardest hit with 31.5 inches of snow.
One report out of Eden on Thursday morning indicated that as much as 12 inches of snow had fallen in just a two-hour span.
Among some of the other hardest hit areas in Erie County also included:
- Orchard Park: 30 inches
- Hamburg: 29.6 inches
- Elma Center: 25 inches
- East Aurora: 24.5 inches
- West Falls: 24.5 inches
According to the National Weather Service, the intense band of lake effect snow off Lake Erie that caused problems during the morning commute has since weakened and shifted inland temporarily.
However, the snow band is expected to re-intensify around the evening commute time, potentially creating some more hazardous travel conditions for areas not already under a travel ban. This includes the Buffalo metro region, which could see anywhere up to 6-to-10 inches of snow possible later.
Meanwhile, portions of Southern Erie County could see another foot of snow through midnight.
A State of Emergency was issued by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday for Erie, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Wyoming and Genesee counties.
In addition, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has issued a State of Emergency for the county, due to the impact of the winter weather and its aftereffects, which may threaten public safety.
Related
