New York Gov. Hochul urges upstate residents to prepare for lake effect snow surge this weekend

Mother Nature appears anxious to test those shovels and snow blowers, at least upstate, as New Yorkers get used to the early days of the new year.

With winter storm warnings, winter weather advisories, and wind advisories still in effect, Governor Kathy Hochul provided an update Thursday on the lake effect snow event that is expected to affect a number of upstate locales in the coming days.

The National Weather Service has issued lake effect snow warnings through the weekend for areas in Western New York, the Finger Lakes, Central New York, the Mohawk Valley, and the North Country, with heavy snow expected to affect those areas.

Hochul stated, “As we respond to significant snowfall, strong winds, and cooler temperatures that are expected across much of the state through the weekend, our agencies continue to work around the clock in coordination with our local partners.”Since things can quickly change or get worse, I urge everyone to keep an eye on their local forecast and remain vigilant.

There might be one to three feet of lake effect snow in some places, such as northern Cayuga, far southern Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego counties, and one to two feet in other places.

Travel will likely be impacted by snowfall rates of up to 2 inches per hour and wind gusts of up to 45 mph, as visibility will be significantly diminished and winds may bring down tree branches, causing power outages. It is advised that drivers anticipate and get ready for rapidly shifting road conditions.

With minimum wind chills ranging from the single digits throughout most of the state, excluding New York City, Long Island, and the lower Hudson Valley, to several degrees below zero as you move farther north, colder temperatures and blustery winds are predicted for Friday through Sunday.

Tom Kines, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather, told the Advance/SILive.com that the city should see some snowfall from the winter storm sometime late Sunday night into early Monday morning.If snow does fall on the city, it is not anticipated to cover much more than an inch.

The National Weather Service’s website, atalerts.weather.gov, has a comprehensive list of weather alerts. Additionally, residents of New York are urged to subscribe to NY Alert atalert.ny.gov, a free program that delivers vital emergency information to your computer or cell phone, in order to get emergency alerts.