Traffic at the end of Thanksgiving weekend
As the Thanksgiving weekend wraps up, millions of Americans are on their way home. TSA officials expect to end up screening nearly 20 million travelers by the end of the day on Monday. FOX 5 NY’s Stephanie Bertini has the latest information.
NEW YORK – TSA expects Sunday to be the busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving holiday as parts of New York are covered in snow.
According to a press release, TSA expects to screen more than three million people as the snow storm upstate could lead to disruptions.
FOX Weather said nearly 2.9 million remain under a Lake-Effect Snow Warning through at least Monday across parts of western and northern New York.
JUMP TO DELAYS AND CANCELATIONS | SNOW TOTALS AND CLOSURES | RADAR LOOP
Winter weather alerts for the Great Lakes. (FOX Weather)
NEWARK, NJ – SEPTEMBER 28: A traveler looks at a departure board in Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport on September 28, 2024, in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Check the status of each airport below:
JFK Airport status
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LaGuardia Airport status
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Newark Airport status
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As of Sunday, snowfall totals have exceeded 3 feet downwind of Lake Erie in parts of northwestern Pennsylvania’s Erie County and western New York south of Buffalo and downwind of Lake Ontario in northern New York, and an additional 1-2 feet of snow is possible before the storm begins to wind down.
With snow falling between 1 and 4 inches an hour, accumulations overwhelmed efforts to keep roads clear under the heaviest bands.
Interstate 90 was closed in both directions across Erie County, Pennsylvania, where the neighborhood of North East reported over 43 inches as of Sunday morning, and other nearby towns exceeded 3 feet.
The I-90 closure extended into New York state, but Gov. Kathy Hochul said late Saturday afternoon that the westbound lanes from Exit 57 to the Pennsylvania state line reopened to passenger traffic. However, a commercial travel ban remains in effect from Exit 46 to the Pennsylvania state line.
Interstate 86 was also closed near Erie, Pennsylvania, and New York officials issued travel bans in Dunkirk, Fredonia and Pomfret.
“We have been working tirelessly to keep Route 5 open in the Dunkirk area, however, over 100 vehicles had to be towed from Route 5 to make it possible for our plows to get through,” New York State DOT officials posted on X. “THIS is why we ask that you stay off the roads if you do not have to travel!”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for nearly a dozen upstate counties as crews braced for the long-duration event, while in Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shaprio has activated the state’s National Guard to assist with stranded drivers and help emergency vehicles respond to calls.
Erie County Executive Brenton Davis declared a snow disaster. “Roads are dangerous, and travel is strongly discouraged except for emergencies,” Davis’ proclamation read.
Arctic air continues to pour out of Canada and is sweeping across the Great Lakes, which are currently experiencing record-warm water temperatures.
In New York, Barnes Corners and Copenhagen reached 46 inches of snow on the eastern end of Lake Ontario.
Current radar loop. (FOX Weather)
How much snow is expected around Buffalo off Lake Erie?
The city of Buffalo had been included in the Lake-Effect Snow Warning, but that has since been dropped as of Sunday morning.
However, communities south of Buffalo remain under the warning and could see an additional 1-2 feet of snow through Monday under the most intense snow bands.
“During lake effect snow, the weather can vary from bands of locally heavy snow with greatly reduced visibilities to dry conditions just a few miles away,” the NWS in Buffalo said. “Be prepared for rapid changes in weather, visibility and road conditions.”
Snow forecast totals for western New York off Lake Erie. (FOX Weather)
The Lake-Effect Snow Warning includes Orchard Park, where the Buffalo Bills are scheduled to take on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football. Current projections indicate up to a foot of snow will fall there by Sunday afternoon, but the snow is expected to shift south of the stadium before game time.
“They’re certainly going to have a lot of snow to shovel out of the stands (Sunday) before the game,” FOX Weather Storm Specialist Mike Seidel said.
Seidel reported there were 30 inches of snow on the ground while reporting from Mayville, New York. About 11 inches of it fell in the first several hours he was there.
‘Extreme’ band of snowfall expected around Watertown off Lake Ontario
Snow forecast totals for northern New York off Lake Ontario. (FOX Weather)
The ongoing intense band of snow will wobble north and south of the Watertown area through Monday. This band will be extreme, at times capable of snow rates up to 4 inches per hour and thundersnow.
The highest snow totals from the event will be found in this region, where a bull’s-eye of 4-6 feet of snow is possible somewhere from the northern Tug Hill Plateau to near or in Watertown.
How much more snow is expected near Cleveland and Erie?
The area stretching from Ashtabula, Ohio, through Erie, Pennsylvania, and into Mayville, New York, was hit the hardest Friday, and more snow is on the way into the start of the workweek. Forecasts indicate still another 8-12 inches is possible around Erie, Pennsylvania, and even northeastern Ohio.
Storm-total snowfall may be as high as 3-4 feet somewhere from the Chautauqua County shoreline in southwestern New York into southern Erie County in Pennsylvania, and perhaps even some of the more distant Southtowns of Buffalo.
Snow forecast totals for northwestern Pennsylvania, southwestern New York and northeastern Ohio off Lake Erie. (FOX Weather)
The Source: This article uses reporting from FOX Weather and FlightAware.
