Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Meteorologist Andy Parker has been poring over weather data to get the most up-to-date information out about Sunday afternoon's AFC Wild Card Round matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers in Orchard Park.
A Winter Storm Watch is now posted for the metro Buffalo area and much of Western New York Saturday through early Monday.
"Here's what we know," said Parker during an appearance on WBEN on Thursday. "We know temperatures are going to be in the 20s, and it's going to be a very windy day with wind chills near zero. That's locked in. We also know there will be a lake effect plume off Lake Erie. The next question is, where?"
Parker added the cone of probability right now (as of Thursday morning), eliminates the Northtowns and pretty much eliminates the City of Buffalo. It's going to reside between the deeper Southtowns to the Boston Hills and Springville area.
He admits it's kind of a wide net right now, but adds as we get closer, he'll be able to narrow it down.
"Each day we're learning more. Every 12 hours, we get a data dump, and we'll be able to analyze it as we get closer and closer," Parker said.
Parker expects the plume of lake effect to fire up Saturday night into Sunday and intensify.
"If you take lake effect snow and have winds that are gusting to 40 mph, it is a terrible combination for visibility," he explained. "If it sets up over the Boston Hills, it's one of those things where folks to the North get to the stadium without a problem. But it could be a bigger issue for those who are coming up from the South."
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Parker says the next piece of the puzzle will be amounts of snow.
"Sometimes the more wind you have, the less snow you get," he added. "Sometimes the wind rips it to shreds and doesn't allow the snow to pile up."
Parker does expect projections of a foot or more of snow to fall, it's just a matter of where.
If it does become a debilitating snow, Parker noted it's too late to make the decision to move the game.
"They're going to have to play the game in whatever Mother Nature throws at you," Parker said. "It could, if it goes over the stadium, be a blinding, wind-whipped snow for a playoff game."
Kickoff on Sunday is slated for 1 p.m. EST.