An explosion in the Arctic hit the Northern Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes on Saturday morning, putting millions of Americans under freeze warnings.
On Saturday, 16 million people are under winter warnings across the Great Lakes and the Central Plains to the Appalachians, while about 9 million people in the South are under freeze warnings.
The National Weather Service warned that the Arctic air mass is delivering the coldest temperatures since last winter. Wind chills in the Northern Plains and upper Midwest are expected to dip below zero Saturday morning. Parts of North Dakota could experience wind chills of minus 30 to 40 degrees, according to the agency.
Lake effect snow will fall in Lowville, NY Friday evening.Cara Anna / AP
The highest snow accumulations are expected east of Lake Ontario, where some isolated areas could be hit with as much as 60 centimeters of snow around the Watertown, New York, area early next week, the National Weather Service said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Friday for several counties, including Erie and Oswego. Sometimes snowfall rates are blinding, at 3 to 4 inches per hour, and can be accompanied by thunderstorms, a rare weather event that combines a snowstorm with thunder and lightning, creating dangerous travel conditions.
More than 20 inches of snow had already fallen along the shores of Lake Erie in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York by Friday evening, according to the National Weather Service.
Erie, Pennsylvania, recorded 30 inches, the highest total yet, according to the agency.
Travel disruptions have smothered post-Thanksgiving travel plans, especially along Interstate 90 between Cleveland and Buffalo.
The highway was closed late Friday afternoon in Pennsylvania, between Highway 79 and the New York state line, New York Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said at a news conference. Other arteries potentially affected include Interstate 81, north of Syracuse, New York.
The National Weather Service said Friday that travel could be “very difficult to impossible” in places downwind of the Great Lakes.
Other arteries potentially affected include Interstate 81, north of Syracuse, New York. The ‘Sunday Night Football’ battle between the San Francisco 49ers and the Buffalo Bills could be covered in snow because Highmark Stadium is in Orchard Park, a city expected to see between 12 and 18 inches of rise, with higher amounts possible are.
The Buffalo Bills published this on Friday Xfor their diehard fans, dubbed the “Bills Mafia,” to register to shovel snow at the stadium.
Poloncarz said during the media briefing that central and southern Erie County will most likely be the hardest hit, with most of the snowfall falling on Saturday and Sunday. The central regions of the province could see between 2 and 3 meters of snow, while the southern part of the province could see more than 3 meters, Poloncarz said.
Meanwhile, residents in the South, stretching from Texas to the Carolinas, woke up Friday to freeze watches and warnings.
A powerful one lake effect snow events covering areas downwind of the Great Lakes are expected to subside early next week. But forecasters warned that colder air was still moving south as an Arctic air mass moved south from Canada.