Epic Snows Bury Portions of Upstate New York

Posted February 7, 2007 at 9:49 PM

The Lake Effect Snow (LES) machine has been in high gear over the past several days (click here for a nontechnical explanation of what causes lake effect snow). Certain favored areas in the lee of Lake Ontario have been getting absolutely and literally buried by snow, with 3-day snow totals approaching 70"! The snow is forecast to continue heavily overnight and tomorrow with possibly 3 or more feet in a few locations on the Tug Hill Plateau.

Here is a radar animation view of the strong, single band affecting areas directly east of Lake Ontario around midnight, Feb 8, 2007 (courtesy of WeatherTap).

Here is the NWS Gridpoint forecast for Montague, NY valid at 9:16 PM, February 7, 2007:

Tonight: Periods of snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 1. Wind chill values between -13 and -19. West wind around 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 25 to 31 inches possible.

Thursday: Periods of snow. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 15. Wind chill values between -10 and -20. Breezy, with a west wind between 20 and 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 12 to 18 inches possible.

Thursday Night: Periods of snow, mainly before 1am. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 2. Wind chill values between -9 and -16. Breezy, with a west wind 18 to 21 mph decreasing to between 10 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Check out current snow reports from the Buffalo National Weather Service.