State of emergency declared for 11 counties in Western NY and North Country due to snow

Buffalo, N.Y. — A state of emergency has been declared Saturday by the governor for 11 counties in Western New York and the North Country as heavy lake effect snow moves into those areas this weekend.

Oswego, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Allegany, Erie, Cattaraugaus, Chautauqua, Genessee, Herkimer, and Wyoming counties are all under a state of emergency. Gov. Kathy Hochul declared the state of emergencies in a tweet at 2:42 p.m. on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The state of emergency starts immediately, Hochul wrote.

READ MORE: Forecast worsens for Watertown: City could get 70 inches of snow through Monday

Over 100 National Guard members are staging in Western New York, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

The declarations come as heavy lake-effect snow starts to fall in those areas.

As of early Friday, the snow fall projected for specific communities included wide ranges. Consider these forecasts for today through early Monday, according to the National Weather Service:

• Dunkirk could get 29 to 47 inches
• Jamestown could get 9 to 17 inches
• Pulaski could get 8 to 16 inches
• Lowville could get 11 to 21 inches

And Watertown could get 49 to 64 inches – more than 5 feet of snow by Monday.

In the Orchard Park area, where the Buffalo Bills are set to play Sunday, there could be as much as 3 to 4 feet of snow. The stadium is in Erie County, which is now under a state of emergency.

In the North Country, near Watertown, up to 5 to 6 feet of snow is possible.

The snow is expected to create poor visibility and dangerous travel conditions on parts of the state Thruway and Interstate 81.

Empty commercial vehicles and tandem trucks have been banned from several stretches of highway.

The ban includes:

• The New York Thruway (Interstate-90) from the Pennsylvania line to Buffalo (Exit 53)
• Interstate 86 from the Pennsylvania state line to Interstate 390
• U.S. Route 219 from the Pennsylvania line north to the Thruway