NWS Map Shows One State Still Facing up to 48 Inches of Snow
2025 is over, but some parts of the United States are starting the new year with the same brutal weather that marked the end of the old one.
Over the last several days, the Great Lakes region has been blasted by heavy snow, and the flakes are projected to continue falling in some spots through the weekend.
"More persistent lake effect snow showers are likely Thursday into Friday downwind of lake Erie, Ontario and the eastern portion of Lake Superior," the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Prediction Center said Thursday. "This will support very heavy snow potential across far northwest Pennsylvania, far western New York State and portions of northwest New York State and over the eastern portion of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan."
New York in particular is in the crosshairs of this weather event. Parts of the state are bracing for up to 48 inches of snow.
Winter Storm Warning in effect
According to the NWS map, areas of New York State surrounding Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are under a "Winter Storm Warning" until 7 a.m. ET Saturday.
Wayne and northern Cayuga Counties may see 1-to-2 feet of snow, with up to three feet locally. Travel will be "very difficult to impossible in the heaviest bands of snow with near zero visibility and deep snow cover on roads," says the NWS Buffalo office.
Up to 48 inches of snow possible elsewhere
A separate "Winter Storm Warning" for Oswego, Jefferson and Lewis counties says Oswego County may see as much as four feet of snow from now until Saturday morning.
"The greatest additional snow amounts will focus across Oswego County," the NWS alert said. "Additional snowfall in Jefferson County will only be across the far southern end of the county, and in Lewis County only in the far southwest corner of the county, with minimal amounts elsewhere."
From now through Friday morning, lake effect snow may fall at a rate of 1-to-2 inches per hour off Lake Erie, with snow falling 3-to-5 inches per hour off Lake Ontario through Friday.