The Great Lakes region is forecast to see the coldest air since February and heavy periods of lake effect snow beginning Friday. Significant snow totals are possible downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario with travel disruptions especially on Interstate 90 between Cleveland and Buffalo and on Interstate 80 north of Syracuse.
BUFFALO, N.Y. – A rush of arctic air will plunge temperatures across the country after Thanksgiving, creating a long-duration lake-effect snow event in the Great Lakes, where multiple feet of snow are expected to pile up through early next week, and dangerously cold temperatures in the Midwest.
After above-average temperatures for the Midwest this fall, the first arctic outbreak of the season will bring “dangerously cold” wind chills of 15-30 degrees below zero for the northern Plains and Upper Midwest, according to NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC).
As the Thanksgiving Day winter storm exits the Northeast, it will begin to pull in arctic air from Canada and bring the cold air as far as the Southeast.
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By Black Friday, nearly 230 million Americans will experience below-average temperatures.
According to the WPC, wind chills should fall well below zero across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest.
Areas of the Dakotas and Minnesota will see dangerously cold temperatures that could cause hypothermia and frostbite if unprotected skin is exposed. Some areas will drop to between -30 and -40 degrees when factoring in the wind chill.
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Travelers in these regions should be sure to have a winter survival kit.
Feet of lake-effect snow expected from New York to Michigan
The coldest air of the season will drop temperatures over the Great Lakes, which are currently experiencing record-warm temperatures. Beginning Friday, this combination will trigger a long-duration lake-effect snowstorm.
A Lake-Effect Snow Warning is in effect through Monday for western New York cities and towns along Lake Erie – including Orchard Park, where the Buffalo Bills are scheduled to take on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football – and central and northern New York cities and towns along Lake Ontario – including Oswego and Watertown.
Other areas in western New York, northeastern Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania are under a Winter Storm Watch from Friday through Monday. That includes Buffalo, New York, and Erie, Pennsylvania.
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The arctic outbreak is bad news for post-Thanksgiving travelers this weekend.
The WPC said travel disruptions are likely, especially on Interstate 90 between Cleveland and Buffalo and on Interstate 81 north of Syracuse, New York
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The highest snow totals are expected downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario as the lake-effect snow event continues to unfold over the better part of next week.
“Colder air pouring over the region through the holiday weekend will then set the stage for significant lake-effect snow east of lakes Erie and Ontario,” the National Weather Service office in Buffalo said. “Multiple feet of snow can be expected in the typical snow belts east of the lakes.”
The FOX Forecast Center is forecasting up to 4 feet of snow from far northeastern Ohio through Erie, Pennsylvania, and areas near and south of Buffalo and Watertown, New York. Areas in western and northern Michigan along lakes Michigan and Superior could also see more than a foot of snow, with locally higher totals upwards of 2 feet, by next Wednesday.
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The NWS in Buffalo said travel conditions will worsen through the weekend as the “prolonged” snow event is likely to drop multiple feet of snow.
“Travel will be very difficult and, at times, nearly impossible,” according to the NWS Buffalo.