Lake-Effect Snow — Genesee, New York

2022-11-17 to 2022-11-20 · Genesee, New York

Event narrative

A barn was collapsed in the Town of Darien due to the weight of the heavy snow on the roof.

Wider weather episode

The incipient lake effect bands formed over far southern Erie County early in the morning hours of Thursday, November 17. The much more intense portion of this event really started with a bang on Thursday evening as an incredibly strong dominant band of lake effect snow developed into the Buffalo area. This intense band continued through Friday evening and dropped multiple feet of snow that was focused on central Erie County as well as northern Jefferson County.

The band off of Lake Erie migrated north overnight Friday night into early Saturday, impacting downtown Buffalo, the Buffalo Airport, and the Northtowns with rates of up to six inches per hour. It then shifted even farther north into Niagara County during the daytime Saturday.

The band off of Lake Ontario shifted into far northern Jefferson County and the Saint Lawrence Valley Saturday and Saturday evening.

The bands off both lakes eventually again settled a bit farther south with impressive snow rates continuing. Multi-day accumulations of heavy snow crippled the Buffalo Southtowns and Watertown area. Selected totals from this lake effect event include 81.2 inches in Hamburg, 80 inches in Orchard Park, 29 inches in Little Valley and Cattaraugus, 27 inches in Fredonia, 48.6 inches in Warsaw, 27.3 inches in Mexico, 76 inches in Blasdell, 36.6 inches at the Buffalo Airport, 19.5 inches in Harrisville, 25.3 inches in Batavia, 19.5 inches in North Tonawanda, and 9.5 inches in Cleveland. New one and two day county records were set for snowfall in Genesee County, and a new two day snowfall record was set in Erie County.

During the storm, one 74 year old man died in Wyoming County due to exposure after exiting his car and getting lost due to whiteout conditions. Additionally, two Erie County men died due to overexertion while shoveling snow.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1066488. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.