BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York Governor Kathy Hochul is in Buffalo this weekend monitoring and providing updates on the winter storm forecast for Western New York.
Hochul spoke at a press conference Saturday with several state and local officials, including Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
Hochul said she has conferred with weather officials and says the worst part of the storm is expected to be Sunday afternoon in the southtowns and South Buffalo area.
"The snow, the wind and frigid temperatures, wind gusts and chills leading us down to single digits of zero to nine degrees. These conditions will make travel extraordinarily dangerous with whiteout conditions, nearly impossible to see," said Hochul.
After consulting with the NFL, the Buffalo Bills wild card game against the Steelers has been postponed until 4:30 p.m. Monday at Highmark Stadium.
"The NFL has agreed with our assessment that we need to postpone tomorrow's playoff game until 4:00 p.m. Monday. It will continue to be played at Highmark Field right in Orchard Park. It's all part of our critical efforts to keep New Yorkers, motorists, and fans safe from this wildly unpredictable storm," said Hochul.
A TRAVEL BAN is in effect for all passenger and truck vehicles in Erie County. This is in addition to the tractor-trailer tandems and empty trailer ban already in place on NYS highways in WNY. "Local law enforcement will be enforcing these bands and the full travel ban gives us the opportunity to try and keep on top of the snow removal to keep roads safe and clear," said Hochul. The travel ban will be reassessed at 6 a.m. Sunday.
Gov. Hochul issued a State of Emergency on Friday, to ensure extra resources will be available in Western New York to help local officials deal with the winter storm.
Hochul said she has activated 100 members of the New York National Guard to be in place in Western New York this weekend to assist with the snow event.
Road crews will be out to pre-treat the roads and plows will work to keep roads clear as the snow falls.
Hochul says there are 11,000 utility crew members on standby to help deal with any power outages that might occur from wind events forecasted for Saturday into Sunday.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for Erie, Genesee, Wyoming, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties until 7 a.m. Monday. Per the NWS-Buffalo office: Heavy lake effect snow and very strong winds expected. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 2 feet, and possibly up to 3 feet in the most persistent lake snows. Blizzard conditions will be possible at times, especially Saturday night and Sunday. 8 to 16 inches of snow for the S. Tier counties under the warning.
There's a Winter Storm Warning for Niagara and Orleans counties until 3 p.m. Sunday, with total snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches in the most persistent lake snows. Winds gusting as high as 55 mph. The strongest winds will be Saturday late morning into the evening. Blizzard conditions will be possible at times, especially late Saturday night and Sunday morning.
A High Wind Warning has been issued for all of Western New York until 4 a.m. Sunday. The strong area of low pressure will pass by to our west, which will help generate strong winds Saturday night. Wind gusts could gust 45 to 55 mph Saturday night into Sunday especially for the lake plains to include Buffalo and Niagara Falls, and near the Lake Erie shoreline.