STORM UPDATES: Wyoming County under travel advisory after winter wallop

NYS THRUWAY AUTHORITY 11/19 (7:51 p.m.): The commercial vehicle ban that was in place has been lifted. Please continue to use caution as more snow is expected Saturday night.

WYOMING COUNTY TRAVEL ADVISORY (12 PM): People are asked to stay off the roads due to poor visibility in Wyoming County.

The Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office issued a travel advisory around 10:30 a.m. Friday. Blowing and drifting snow are causing poor visibility. The weather also forced Wyoming County courts to close, with the exception of criminal arraignments or emergency criminal matters.

Genesee and Wyoming counties could see an additional foot of snow. Stay up to date with the latest weather developments from News10NBC right here.

THUNDERSNOW IN BUFFALO (12 PM):

A rooftop cityscape captured the moment when thundersnow roared over the city. People in Buffalo heard those deafening rumbles of thunder and saw lightning strikes as the lake effect snowstorm moved across the area.

Meteorologists say thundersnow is created much the same as in a thunderstorm, except the lake effect snow clouds are lower to the ground and the lighting is more dramatic in the sky.

LATEST FULL FORECAST (12 PM): Not a lot of winter weather is happening in Rochester, but areas south and west are dealing with a good amount of lake-effect snow.

There will be generally light to moderate bursts through the morning along the Thruway down into Livingston and Ontario counties. Light accumulations are expected in the 1-3 inches range.

The amounts will increase dramatically across Southern Genesee County into northern Wyoming County and further west towards the Buffalo Southtowns.

This band of snow will not move a lot through Friday but may drift a bit north in the afternoon. That is when we might get a spray of snow in Rochester with minor amounts generally under an inch.

The snow band will move overnight to the north and then to our west on Saturday morning with not a lot happening on Saturday locally, as heavier snow will be out towards Niagara Falls.

On Sunday, the snow bands will swing back through the region with some squalls possible off of Ontario Sunday afternoon in Rochester and along the 104.

Stay tuned to News10NBC for the latest on the heavy lake snows as they move across the region over the next couple of days.

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LIVE FROM ATTICA (6 AM): The snow is coming down in Attica, Wyoming County, southwest of Rochester. That’s where First Alert Meteorologist Alex Bielfeld delivered his live report. He reminds people to be careful if they need to travel.

PRICE GOUGING WARNING (5:30 AM): State Attorney General Letitia James is warning western New York businesses against price gouging amid the snowstorm and state of emergency.

James is asking anyone who believes they are a victim of price gouging to contact her office. You can call 212-416-8090 or file a complaint here.

She’s also reminding businesses that New York State prohibits them from taking unfair advantage of people with excessive pricing of essential goods during times of emergencies including food, water, and gas.

SCHOOL CLOSINGS (5 AM): Some schools in our viewing area have posted closings, including Attica Central, Batavia City, and LeRoy Central. You can get updates on school closings here.

THRUWAY UPDATE (5 AM): The impending snowstorm on Friday has closed parts of the New York State Thruway, including I-90, to commercial traffic.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced a state of emergency for 11 counties, including Monroe, closing the thruway to all commercial traffic from Exit 46 in Henrietta to the Pennsylvania State Line. Erie County also issued a driving ban.

Officials will re-evaluate the Thruway closure later this morning based on weather conditions. In the meantime, the governor has asked people to stay home and stay off the roads wherever possible.

“That level of snow coming down with that intensity is what creates the dangerousness, the lack of ability to see on the roads which is why we’re saying motorists please stay off the roads,” Hochul said. “work remotely if you can. Schools are being shut down in anticipation so we can continue the work of clearing the roads as soon as possible.” The state has more than 350 plow trucks, hundreds of emergency and rescue workers and 42-thousand tons of salt working to clear the roads.

The lake band will drop south and become much more unorganized on Sunday with another wind shift. This will spread the snow out much more but lessen the intensity of the snow. This also means we may see some passing snow showers and bursts of snow for the Bills game, but the heaviest snow will be done by then. Outside of any snow showers, Sunday will be a cold and windy day!

Looking ahead to next week – we’ll see quiet weather leading up to Thanksgiving, which is great for travel! Thanksgiving Day itself is trending drier, but a little cooler. Post-Thanksgiving travel may be an issue next weekend, as we may be eyeing a potential system. A lot of details still have to be ironed out, so we’ll keep you posted if anything develops.

BUFFALO STORM REACTION: (4 AM): A state of emergency is underway right now for most of western New York. Forecasters say a snowstorm could bring as much as four feet of snow to the city of Buffalo.

Erie County has issued a driving ban and only people authorized for emergency travel are permitted to drive. some residents say the storm is worse than they first thought.

“I wasn’t expecting this, this is big. I wasn’t expecting this. I heard there was a storm, but I didn’t think nothing of it,” said Buffalo resident Brendan Robinson.

The National Weather Service says the heaviest snow for the buffalo area is expected to fall at a rate of more than three inches an hour.

BUFFALO FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS: (4 AM): Flights coming in and out of Buffalo had to be canceled starting Thursday night because of the storm. Flights across the board in Buffalo are still canceled on Friday morning.

This applies to American Airlines, Jetblue, United, Delta, Southwest, and Frontier. These cancellations began just after 7 p.m. and are expected to last until at least 7:25 a.m. More cancellations are expected throughout the day.

STATE OF EMERGENCY (11 PM Thursday): Erie County officials gave an update on the conditions of the storm. Several cities in the county, including Hamburg and Amherst, are under a state of emergency.

A driving ban is also in place in Erie County. Officials say they are prepared and in constant contact with utilities.

“We’ll anticipate having full crews, rotating everyone out about every 12 hours and we’ll be on staff until the duration of this event and probably up until Monday,” said William Geary Jr., commissioner of the Erie County Department of Public Works.

“We’ve got our fire safety office that’s here, we’ve got a safety preparedness office, we’ve got state representatives from the Office of Emergency Management here,” said Daniel J. Neaverth of the Erie County Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Services. “We also have ems from not only the county but also from the state on hand so that allows us to keep monitoring things.”

The state has deployed a total of 112 staff from other regions of New York to support lake effect snow removal in critical areas. You’re asked to stay clear of snow plow and salt trucks, giving operators the space to do their jobs.

BILLS GAME RELOCATED: (4 PM Thursday): The NFL is relocating the Bills home game against the Cleveland Browns to Detroit on Sunday because of a lake-effect snowstorm set to hit the Buffalo region.

The move to relocate the game comes before the storm even began. The forecast is for between one to three feet of snow on the region through the weekend. The switch in sites means the Bills will play back-to-back games in Detroit. They’re scheduled to play the Lions on Thanksgiving. You can read more here.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (12 PM Thursday) — Western New York is preparing for a massive snowstorm that could dump as much as four feet in some areas, most of which are west of Rochester.

Gov. Kathy Hochul held a news conference in Buffalo to warn drivers to avoid any unnecessary travel between Thursday night and Sunday. She says ATVs and snowmobiles are being brought in to help in any rescue efforts.

“That level of snow coming down with that intensity is what creates the dangerousness,” Gov. Hochul said. “The lack of ability to see on the roads which is why we’re saying motorists please stay off the roads. Work remotely if you can. Schools are being shut down in anticipation so we can continue the work of clearing the roads as soon as possible.”

Hochul declared a state of emergency starting Thursday in parts of western New York, including Buffalo, because of the potentially dangerous lake-effect snow.