Parts of New York were hit by a lake-effect snowstorm on Friday, causing white-out conditions for drivers in one of the busiest driving weeks of the year.
Thanksgiving week brought cold temperatures to much of the United States, with areas including the Midwest, parts of the South and New York receiving cold weather and snow amid one of the most highly traveled weeks of the year as winter inches closer.
In New York, a snowstorm struck parts of the northern and western parts of the state near the Great Lakes on Friday, causing potentially hazardous conditions for drivers the day after Thanksgiving, according to local news reports.
The National Weather Service (NWS) wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that "heavy lake-effect snow bands and snow showers have developed downwind of the Great Lakes" and will continue into next week, making travel difficult in some areas.
Newsweek reached out to New York's Department of Transportation for comment via email.
In New York, the storms affected areas bordering Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, including Buffalo. Areas north of Syracuse and around Watertown were also affected.
Lake-effect snow occurs when cold, dry air moves over a body of water, in this case, the Great Lakes, and picks up moisture from the lake's surface. When the air moves over land, it cools, and the moisture condenses, leading to snowfall.
Watertown may receive up to several feet of snow, according to NWS. It is expected to receive anywhere between 11 and 17 inches of snow on Friday night. On Saturday, it could receive 10 to 16 inches of snow and 12 to 18 inches throughout the night. It is expected to continue snowing on Sunday and stop by Monday morning when it is sunnier.
The Buffalo NWS wrote in a Facebook post that travel conditions in the area are "extremely poor," with snow falling three inches per hour east of Lake Erie.
"It might not be much where you are traveling from or where your destination is, but that doesn't mean it won't be bad along the way. Avoid traveling into the lake effect bands tonight and through this weekend," the post reads.
According to the service's forecast, Buffalo will continue getting snow showers Saturday, mainly after 1 p.m. and before 3 a.m. There will continue to be a chance for snow showers throughout the rest of the week.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency and imposed a travel ban on empty and tandem commercial vehicles earlier Friday.
"That's all the way from the Pennsylvanian line to Interstate 390 through I-90 to exit 53 and also 219 to the Pennsylvania line," Hochul said during a press conference.
She continued, "That's to make sure that we don't end up with overturned vehicles, which can be really dangerous and, as we've seen before, can literally paralyze our main roads or the New York State Thruway."
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