The National Weather Service in Cheektowaga, NY has issued a Lake Effect Snow Warning for western New York State downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario beginig Sunday evening January 1st. This is in anticipation of a sharp cold front that is swinging through the region. Ahead of the front temperatures will soar into the upper 40's while behind the front temperatures will be in the teens and twenties. This artic blast will be accompanied by Gale force winds in excess of 40 miles per hour with gusts as high as 65 miles per hour. The cold wind over the unfrozen, relatively warm lake waters is expected to produce the first significant Lake Effect Snow event of this winter season. Initially rain will fall, quickly changing to snow after the passage of the cold front late Sunday afternoon. Heavy snow in combination with strong winds will produce blizzard conditions with significant blowing and drifting snow and near zero visibilities. Snowfall rates between 2 to 3 inches per hour are expected with in the lake snow bands. In Buffalo, the heaviest snow should fall Sunday evening through early Monday morning with a secondary round of snow expected on Wednesday. Snow accumulations could range between 4 inches to 1 foot by the time the snow subsides on Wenesday evening from Niagara Falls to the Buffalo south towns. Areas south of Buffalo as well as downwind of Lake Ontatario could recieve between 1 and 3 feet of snow by Wenesday evening. In addition to the snow and wind, the strong gales are expected to produce a surge of water along the leeward lake shores leading to coastal flooding.
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