Clarence, N.Y. (WBEN) - If whiteout conditions are keeping you off the road, plow drivers want you to know they're experiencing the same thing.
Monday's forecast has highway departments across Western New York preparing for difficult conditions.
"1-to-3 inches in a blowing snow is comparable to what you would see in a major snowstorm," said Jamie Dussing, Highway Superintendent in the Town of Clarence. "Visibility's tough. You might not have the overall accumulation amounts but it's tough to drive. Tough to plow."
High winds blowing the snow force crews to constantly plow the roads to keep them clear of drifts. Dussing said that salt isn't as effective in these conditions because it will cause snow to stick to some spots.
"I've been in that situation many times and you just got to let off the gas, put yourself in a spot where you're either stopped or just going at a crawl," Dussing said. "When it's windy like that they're not necessarily sustained winds, they're just big gusts so you might lose complete visibility for a period of time, but they're short spans and you're able to work between them."