Lancaster, N.Y. (WBEN) - The first big snowstorm of the winter season is set to impact Western New York this Thanksgiving, and officials in Erie County are ready to tackle the storm head-on.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz is expecting a "decent" storm to pass through the region starting in the overnight hours Wednesday and through Thanksgiving and into the early morning hours on Friday.
"All areas of Erie County will receive snow, I think everyone knows that and understands that," said Poloncarz on Wednesday while addressing the media at the county's new highway barns in the Town of Lancaster. "We'll be seeing 3-to-5 inches in the Northowns, and upwards of 18 inches in the Southtowns - When I talk about Southtowns, I'm talking about Southern Erie County."
Poloncarz says there is a gradient in this storm where 4-to-6 inches could fall in one spot, and then it could quickly drop over a foot of snow in another. He says that will primarily impact the lower part of Central Erie County and then from the Town of Boston and areas South.
Regardless of the snowfall projections, Poloncarz knows the county can handle a snowstorm such as this.
"We understand we are in a winter environment, and that's why we prepare for it by having the equipment at the ready, the staff at the ready," he said.
One element of this storm that officials are concerned about is the winds, which are expected to be 30 mile an hour, straight-line winds with gusts of up to 50.
"It would not be surprising if you're driving during the snowstorm, especially tomorrow during the Thanksgiving holiday, when the winds are still going to be expected to be higher where you could be driving, it's fine, and then you enter an area where the snow is blowing and the wind is blowing very high that you can enter into whiteout conditions," Poloncarz added.
While Poloncarz and fellow county officials don't expect conditions to reach blizzard-like with this storm, they advise all travelers to proceed with extra caution.
"If you are driving in an area where the snow is falling and the winds are gusting up to 50 miles an hour, you could have whiteout conditions that prevent you from seeing the road," Poloncarz said.
"If it's snowing, you shouldn't be going down the road at 60 miles an hour. You should be pulling back your speed to something that allows you approximately 10 car lengths ahead of you, with the car ahead of you. So if you had to stop, you could stop and not bash into the car ahead of you. So we want people to remember, if it takes you an extra 15 minutes to get to Grandma's house, it'll take you an extra 15 minutes to get to Grandma's house, but we want you to get to Grandma's house safely, and not getting in an accident or stuck in a ditch."
Poloncarz also reminds residents and drivers to be properly prepared for the winter weather driving, especially if you find yourself in a situation where you may become stranded.
"If you have not done so already, make certain if you have a vehicle, your vehicle is outfitted for the winter, which means having the appropriate equipment, and I'm not just talking about a snow brush or an ice scraper. I'm also talking about having extra clothes in there, extra gloves, an extra hat, scarf, blanket, in case you did get stuck on the side of the road. It's Western New York in winter, people get stuck on the side of the road every winter, even if we don't have bad storms," Poloncarz said. "If your tires are bad, it's probably too late to get snow tires for today, but you need to replace your tires as quickly as possible to ensure that they're appropriate for the winter weather."
One thing Poloncarz is not anticipating with this storm on Thanksgiving and into Friday is the issuance of driving bans.
"Driving bans are issued for the safety of individuals, not just to clean the roads, but to ensure the safety of individuals in our community. If a driving ban is ever issued in the future, it is to ensure that only emergency personnel are on the road, not just so you can go pick up a pizza. Too often we've seen people ignore driving bans and ended up in situations where they put themselves at risk, and then we have to come rescue them," he added.
Poloncarz also says the county is full stocked with road salt this winter season, and does not anticipate any sort of shortages that greatly affected many communities last winter.
Related
