A lake-effect snowstorm dumps over 5 feet of snow across the Great Lakes, paralyzing travel

BUFFALO, N.Y – A prolonged lake-effect snowstorm continues to ravage the Great Lakes region after dumping 3 to 5 feet of snow in cities from Michigan to New York, paralyzing travel as people tried to get home after the busy Thanksgiving weekend come.

On Monday afternoon, Interstate 94 in Michigan was closed between Hartford and Watervliet after Michigan State Police said more than a dozen vehicles were involved in a pileup and 15 other vehicles slid off the road in the same area.

MSP troopers are investigating the crash involving 14 passenger vehicles and three semi-trucks. One driver suffered life-threatening injuries.

“Driving too fast for the conditions is believed to be a factor as heavy snow will result in whiteout conditions,” Fifth District MSP officials wrote on X.

FOX Weather Storm Tracker Brandon Copic captured footage of the crash, as seen below. A portion of I-94 will remain closed starting Monday evening.

This ongoing snowstorm was the first significant lake effect snowfall of the season, and snow amounts were nothing short of epic in numerous Great Lakes communities.

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The highest amounts of snowfall so far have been recorded in cities and towns downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario from northwestern Pennsylvania to western and northern New York state.

Parts of Ohio are also affected, and forecasters say more winter weather is on the way before the system finally shuts down on Tuesday.

The impact of the historic lake-effect snowstorm was far-reaching, not only because of the sheer amount of snow that fell, but also because of the heavy snowfall rates of up to 10 cm per hour, which overwhelmed the teams working tirelessly to keep the snow and ice away Remove roads and highways such as the busy Interstate 90 from New York State to Ohio.

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Due to dangerous winter weather affecting traffic in the area, I-90 was closed along this busy route.

However, thanks to the hard work of Department of Transportation employees across the region, I-90 reopened to passenger traffic in parts of New York for the first time late Saturday, and the highway fully reopened to passenger and commercial vehicles early Monday morning.

Travel is expected to remain treacherous in areas still affected by heavy snowfall from the Great Lakes. Motorists are urged to stay off the road if possible, slow down significantly and maintain sufficient distance between vehicles to ensure the safety of people traveling on Monday.

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Dangerous travel conditions have been reported for days. FOX Weather Storm Tracker Brandon Copic witnessed vehicles struggling to get through the falling snow.

“Honestly, it’s just chaos out here,” Copic said Saturday from Erie, Pennsylvania. “The trucks are driving on roads they shouldn’t be on because the highways are closed, and that just leads to more cars getting stranded.”

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Copic said he spent hours Friday helping those stranded due to the extreme weather conditions. Copic also sent drone video that showed stranded vehicles on Route 5 in Pennsylvania near the New York border, showing cars and trucks stuck in the snow.

“The trucks jackknifing up the road caused the gridlock,” he said.

A state of emergency was declared in three states – New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio – and National Guard troops were called in to help with storm response efforts.

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And it wasn’t just the snow that made headlines over the weekend. The crippling lake-effect snowstorm also produced rare thunderstorms and even waterspouts off the shores of Lake Erie.

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A video shared by Copic showed lightning in the sky as snow fell in Blasdell, New York, and loud rumbles of thunder could be heard in another video shared outside the Buffalo, New York area.

Similar to thunderstorms, thunderstorms require a significant degree of atmospheric instability, and in areas where the phenomenon occurs, snowfall rates can be exceptionally high.

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Winter weather advisories remain in effect across the region, including lake effect snow advisories from Cleveland to southwestern New York that will remain in effect at least through Tuesday morning.

Winter weather warnings also remain in effect for parts of central New York, including metro Syracuse, where several waves of lake-effect snow will hit the area through Tuesday afternoon.

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Snowfall on Lake Erie will continue Monday

The FOX Forecast Center said the primary layer of snow coming from Lake Erie will fall southward again Monday, and the biggest challenge for forecasters is accurately predicting where the heaviest snow will fall and how far inland it will spread becomes.

The band of snow is expected to temporarily remain near the southern lakeshore, but a shift to northwesterly winds will likely push it further inland.

Some areas could see an additional foot or more of snow, with the highest totals likely in portions of Erie County, Pennsylvania, to Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties in southwestern New York.

The city of Erie, Pennsylvania was already buried on Friday when it reported its snowiest day on record with a whopping 22.6 inches of snow before storm totals rose to 42.5 inches on Sunday night.

Travel on major roads and highways in the region, including I-90, I-86 and I-79, could once again become dangerous and nearly impassable. In heavy snow, visibility could drop to less than a quarter mile and strong winds could blow away snow that has already fallen.

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Lake Ontario was also affected

The FOX Forecast Center said the heavy band of snow coming from Lake Ontario has weakened and shifted south after 65.5 inches of snow was dumped south of Watertown, New York, in the town of Barnes Corners.

The threat of snow there has now passed, and as winds shift more strongly to the northwest, attention will shift to new areas further south of Lake Ontario.

The focus will be on a section of Interstate 90 from Rochester to Syracuse, where bands of snow could produce snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour.

That could make travel treacherous on this stretch of I-90, which didn’t experience too many problems during this lake-effect snowstorm.

Whiteout situations could occur in communities on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan

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The FOX Forecast Center said multiple bands of lake-effect snow will continue well into Tuesday in western and northern Michigan in the downwind areas of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.

The bands are not expected to see snowfall as high as Pennsylvania and New York, but it will still be heavy enough to cause near-whiteout conditions and dangerous travel.

Cities like Gaylord, Michigan, have already seen historic amounts of snow, with 43.7 inches accumulating since Thanksgiving morning. The 24.8 inches that fell in Gaylord on Friday alone made Nov. 29 the city’s snowiest calendar day on record.

The National Weather Service office in Gaylord, Michigan, has measured 43.7 inches of snow since Thanksgiving morning and it was still snowing when this photo was taken on Monday morning, December 2, 2024.

(@NWSGaylord / X / FOX Weather)

However, the FOX Forecast Center said the main difference on Monday will be the change in winds. The winds will have a more northerly component, meaning bands of snow coming from Lake Superior will be the most intense, according to forecasters.