National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists are urging some New Yorkers to delay travel this weekend as heavy snow moves into the area.
The NWS has been monitoring the possibility for lake effect snow in parts of New York this weekend, and the Buffalo office issued a winter storm watch earlier this week. On Wednesday afternoon, meteorologists upgraded the watch to a lake effect snow warning for Wyoming, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and southern Erie counties and the eastern Lake Ontario region for this weekend.
“Heavy lake effect snow expected. Multiple feet of snow will be likely through the weekend in the most persistent lake snows,” the warning said. “The highest accumulations will be in the vicinity of the Tug Hill plateau. Snowfall rates will likely exceed 2 inches an hour at times.”
Once snowfall rates exceed 2 inches per hour, snowplows have a difficult time clearing the …