upstate counties getting several feet this weekend NBC New York [Video]

Black Friday was giving way to a white weekend in parts of New York state, with the first big snow of the season threatening to bury towns along lakes Erie and Ontario during a hectic holiday travel and shopping weekend.

As flakes began flying Friday, forecasters warned 4 to 6 feet of blowing and drifting snow could fall in Watertown and other areas east of Lake Ontario through Monday.

After an unusually mild fall, as much as 2 to 3 feet of snow were possible along Lake Erie and south of Buffalo from lake-effect bands notorious for pummeling the region with snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour. Lake-effect snow happens when warm moist air rising from a body of water mixes with cold dry air overhead.

“The lake is 50 degrees. We’re about six degrees above where we should be this time of year, that’s why we’re …