A State of Emergency has been declared in portions of the Western New York, Finger Lakes, Central New York and North Country regions as those areas are set to receive multiple feet of lake effect snow.
Governor Kathy Hochul made the declaration due to areas east of Lakes Erie and Ontario possibly seeing two to three feet of snow along with strong wind gusts of 30-45 mph continuing now through Saturday.
As a result, the Thruway Authority is implementing a tandem and empty tractor trailer ban in both directions on the Thruway (I-90) from exit 53 (Buffalo (Downtown) – Canada – Niagara Falls – I-190) west to the Pennsylvania state line until further notice. Additionally, the Department of Transportation has also implemented a tandem and empty trailer ban for NY Route 5 from NY 179 to I-190 (Erie County), US 219 from I-90 to I-86 (Erie and Cattaraugus Counties), NY Route 400 from I-90 to NY 16 (Erie County) and I-86 from US 219 to PA Line (Cattaraugus and Chautauqua Counties).
New Yorkers in these areas should pay close attention to their local forecasts and avoid any unnecessary travel as the combination of snow and strong winds could create whiteout conditions.
The State of Emergency is in effect for Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Franklin, Genesee, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, St. Lawrence, Wyoming and contiguous counties.
Numerous Watches and Warnings are in effect for much of the state. For a complete listing of weather alerts, visit the National Weather Service website at alerts.weather.gov. New Yorkers are also encouraged to sign up for emergency alerts by subscribing to NY Alert at alert.ny.gov, a free service providing critical emergency information to your cell phone or computer.
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