Watertown could get 70 inches of snow as the North Country lake effect forecast worsens

Syracuse, NY – A heavy lake-effect snow system is headed to the Watertown area and could bring more than 6 feet of snow by Monday, according to the weather service’s latest forecasts.

And the snow has already started falling. Watertown could get 2 feet of snow before the sun rises Saturday.

According to the National Weather Service, travel is already “extremely poor” in these hardest-hit areas.

“It may not be much where you are or where you’re going, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be bad along the way,” the weather service posted on social media this afternoon, a day after Thanksgiving. “Avoid travel into the lake effect bands.”

According to the weather service, the following could happen from Friday 4 p.m.:

• Snowfall could reach more than 70 inches in and around Watertown.
• The Lake Effect Snow Warning has been extended for Oswego, Jefferson and Lewis counties from now until 7 p.m. Monday.
• The largest accumulations are expected in the Eastern Lake Ontario region. In addition to Watertown, the Tug Hill area could also experience heavy snowfall.
• Much of the Lake Effect bands will be north of Oswego County, BUT heavy snow is likely to move south into that county Sunday evening.

The heavy snowfall will make travel very difficult or even impossible, the weather service said.

Predictions suggest the bands could be narrow but intense.

Pulaski, for example, is about 30 minutes south of Watertown but is expected to get about 10 inches of snow, according to the weather service.

Still, Gov. Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency in 11 counties in western and northern New York: Oswego, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Allegany, Erie, Cattaraugaus, Chautauqua, Genessee, Herkimer and Wyoming.

The weather service is urging people not to travel to or through areas where snowfall is heaviest.