Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a "State of Emergency" Thursday for eleven counties as a "paralyzing" and "crippling" lake-effect snowstorm could dump 4-5 feet of snow in the Buffalo region through the weekend.
"The most significant snowfall is expected Thursday and Friday with accumulations of up to four feet of snow possible in the Buffalo area and up to two feet or more of snow possible in the Watertown area, with snowfall rates of three or more inches per hour," Hochul's office wrote in a press release.
Ahead of the winter storm forecast upstate, I am declaring a State of Emergency effective tomorrow morning.
We are deploying emergency assets & are in constant contact with local officials.
New Yorkers: Remain vigilant & avoid unnecessary travel during hazardous conditions.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) November 16, 2022
"The State of Emergency applies to the following counties, as well as contiguous counties: Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Jefferson, Lewis, Niagara, Oneida, Oswego, St. Lawrence, and Wyoming," the press release continued.
Liz Jurkowski, a meteorologist at NWS' Buffalo office, told NYTimes that NWS' use of words to describe the lake-effect snowstorm, such as "crippling" and "paralyzing," is "very rare."
"We usually don't pull these terms out except for historic events," Jurkowski said.
The National Weather Service in Buffalo's latest forecast is 40-60 inches of snow across the Buffalo-Niagara Falls region.
We noted yesterday: "Maybe now is the time to buy supplies and hunker down."
And that's what everyone is doing Thursday: panic hoarding supplies ahead of snowmageddon.
It appears #Buffalo doesn’t like Sara Lee bread before snow storms. pic.twitter.com/WPBy7S8SHQ
— Jim C from 716 (@connollyjamesp) November 17, 2022
#Buffalo is ready for the snow storm pic.twitter.com/ZrnXdaoG4B
— Ivan Ereiz (@IvanEreiz) November 17, 2022
via zerohedge