Feet of lake-effect snow to spawn whiteout conditions across Great Lakes

Heavy lake-effect snow will generate whiteout conditions and dangerous travel across the Great Lakes through Thursday night.

Intense snow bands will unfold as dangerous cold blasts eastward.

“This is the type of lake-effect snow that can not only blind motorists suddenly but could also strand motorists on the highway,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.

People should avoid travel if at all possible during the height of the event. If travel is a necessity, make sure you have an emergency preparedness kit on hand stocked with non-perishable food items, water and blankets.

“Highways most likely to suffer the extreme effects from this lake-effect snow event are I-75, I-80, I-81, I-90, I-94, I-96 and I-196,” Sosnowski said.

The snow bands will move in unison with the cold winds over the Great Lakes.

“Between 2 and 3 feet of snow is expected in the Tug Hill Plateau in upstate New York by the end of the event,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun said.

Gusty winds will be felt near the lake shores. Wind gusts above 40 mph have already been measured in western and northern Michigan as frigid winds blew across Lake Michigan.

Strong lake-effect bands will continue in full force into Thursday night.

A band of snow that set up near Buffalo on Wednesday afternoon produced thunder and lightning and dropped 5 inches of snow in just 90 minutes.

The intensity of the cold air over the warm Great Lakes could allow for more thunder, lightning and even an isolated waterspout in the most intense snow bands.

Snow will accumulate rapidly on roadways and sidewalks with snowfall rates up to 2 inches per hour.

“Portions of interstates 81 and 90 may be shut down for a time,” Rathbun said.

Even in absence of a heavy accumulation of snow, motorists need to be on alert for rapidly changing weather conditions to avoid spin outs and car pileups. Visibility can range from clear to near zero in the span of a few miles.

During Thursday morning, snow squalls contributed to multiple accidents on I-80 in western Pennsylvania.

There will be an opportunity for some snow showers to reach part of the Interstate-95 corridor on Thursday, mainly from Philadelphia and points farther to the north.

The lake-effect machine will slowly wind down on Friday before a new storm moving in from the central U.S. spreads snow, ice and rain over the Northeast on Friday night into Saturday.

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