Although the popular Christmas carol encourages an embrace of the white stuff, it’s doubtful most citizens of Buffalo, New York and the surrounding area are overly happy with the snowfall they’re currently experiencing — even if they can stay inside, warm and dry . As of Friday morning, a dangerous lake-effect snowstorm has paralyzed parts of western and northern New York, with more than a foot of snow already on the ground in places and a driving ban keeping people off the roads in the Buffalo area.

		Read more: ‘Paralyzing’ snowstorm to bury Buffalo, NY under 3 feet of snow 		
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			‘Paralyzing’ blizzard to bury Buffalo, NY under 3 feet of snow

The worst snowfall was expected in Buffalo, where the National Weather Service said up to four feet (1.2 meters) could fall in some places by Sunday, with periods of near-zero visibility. Other areas could get a foot (0.3 meters) or less of lake-induced snow, which is caused by frigid air picking up copious amounts of moisture from the warmer lakes. Story continues below ad While Buffalo is used to heavy snowfall, Global News meteorologist Anthony Farnell says this amount of snow this early in the season is definitely unusual. “Residents in upstate New York will count feet of snow over the next few days. Three feet (90 cm) is possible near Buffalo as a strong southwesterly flow carries very cold air over the relatively warm waters of Lake Erie,” he said.

		Read more: Environment Canada warns of heavy snowfall, near zero visibility in parts of Ontario

Farnell, currently in Buffalo, says Lake Erie water temperatures are still averaging above 10C thanks to an unseasonably warm fall, and that’s causing “ideal conditions” for significant snow resulting in Lake. “It was a wild night south of Buffalo,” Farnell said Friday. “Every time I tried to fall asleep, another flash of light and sometimes very loud thunder. It was a complete whiteout as I looked out the window at the hotel parking lot below. This morning I had to search the drifts to figure out which car was mine.” So much snow!!! About 2 feet so far south of Buffalo. pic.twitter.com/BnV5LUAsaW — Anthony Farnell (@AnthonyFarnell) November 18, 2022 Story continues below ad As cold air travels over the Great Lakes, heat and moisture rise into the Earth’s lower atmosphere, resulting in dense, condensed clouds that have the ability to dump large amounts of snow. 2:50 Snow and freezing weather conditions are expected in the Great Lakes region I’m just shoveling snow out there again. #BuffaloNY pic.twitter.com/zz0KLbzYK0 — Anthony Farnell (@AnthonyFarnell) November 18, 2022 Story continues below ad “Parts of the Niagara region will also be severely affected, with locations such as Fort Erie [in Ont.] up to 60cm of snow by Sunday, with snowfall rates of five to 10cm per hour for a period on Saturday,” says Farnell. Right back to the point. It’s been pretty much relentless since 7:30pm last night south of Buffalo. pic.twitter.com/G1McmyCekc — Anthony Farnell (@AnthonyFarnell) November 18, 2022 The U.S. weather service received reports early Friday of more than a foot of snow along the eastern edge of Lake Erie, with totals of 19.5 inches (49.5 cm) in Buffalo and up to 22.5 inches (57 cm) in Hamburg, New York, about 12 miles (19 km) from Buffalo. Current trend

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Story continues below ad New York Gov. Kathy Hotchul on Thursday declared a state of emergency for parts of western New York, including communities along the eastern edges of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The Hochul state of emergency covers 11 counties, with commercial truck traffic off a stretch of Interstate 90. “About 2 feet or 60 centimeters of snow has fallen so far in West Seneca, just south of Buffalo. The lightning has stopped for now and the snow is lighter, but another wave will likely bring another foot (30 – 60cm) later today and tonight,” Farnell said. “It’s like I’ve never been, and everyone I’ve talked to in the neighborhood is so kind and helpful to each other. Residents here deal with extreme lake-effect snow every winter, but they also say the amount of snow that has fallen in such a short period of time in this storm is very rare,” he continued. Dude where’s my car? Good thing I brought a shovel with me. pic.twitter.com/t54EnR3NO0 — Anthony Farnell (@AnthonyFarnell) November 18, 2022 Story continues below ad Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz issued a driving ban starting Thursday night, shortly after heavy snowfall marked by lightning and lightning struck Buffalo. The ban on non-emergency vehicles on the roads was downgraded to an advisory for the city of Buffalo on Friday, but the ban remained in effect in some other areas of the county, Poloncarz said. The heaviest snow was expected to last through Friday night, with more falling Saturday into Sunday.

		Read more: Up to 60cm of snow possible in warning for parts of southern and northern Ontario 		
																3:01 Buffalo Blizzard: New York Gov. Kathy Hotchul declares local states of emergency in some counties

In addition to Farnell’s reports, there have been other reports of “thunder” and lightning by amateurs and professional weather observers. Relentless snow, an eerie calm followed by a flash of light and then thunder. This scene is repeated throughout the evening. Incredible! #buffalosnow pic.twitter.com/Fm232yKyFa — Anthony Farnell (@AnthonyFarnell) November 18, 2022 Story continues below ad MASS LIGHTNING pic.twitter.com/YHaRJZaK4v — I’m the weatherman, whoever is human (@Weathermansam77) November 18, 2022 – I don’t remember ever seeing so much lightning in a blizzard!! #WestSeneca #NewYork just south of #Buffalo pic.twitter.com/IBCW5l3yxV — WeatherGoinWILD (@WeatherGoinWILD) November 18, 2022 Story continues below ad A potentially historic snowfall means football fans will no longer be watching the Buffalo Bills play the Cleveland Browns at Highmark Stadium on Sunday. Due to public safety concerns and out of an abundance of caution given the ongoing weather emergency in western New York, Sunday’s game against the Browns will be moved to Ford Field in Detroit. More info: pic.twitter.com/0RwqGgi4OJ — Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 17, 2022 The Bills tweeted Thursday that “out of an abundance of caution” the game was moved to Ford Field in Detroit. Maybe the snow is a good omen for the Bills — at least based on some weather images from above. No way the blizzard hitting Buffalo actually looks like the Bills logo 😅🤯 (h/t @SabresAfterDark, @US_Stormwatch) pic.twitter.com/6ouRCtG2mg — NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) November 18, 2022 Story continues below ad “The snow band is moving north into the Niagara Region of Ontario Saturday morning, giving residents here some time to dig out before more snow arrives on Sunday,” Farnell warned. — With files from The Associated Press and Michelle Butterfield and Anthony Farnell of Global News © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.