Here’s the Exact Timing of the Lake Effect Snow Band in WNY

There’s currently a Winter Storm Warning that goes into effect this afternoon and lasts until 7 am on Monday for Erie County. It goes until 3 pm on Sunday for Niagara County.

There’s also a High Wind Warning for Saturday. Gusts will reach 65 mph with 45 mph gusts expected for Sunday.

New York Governor and Buffalo native Kathy Hochul issued a state of emergency for Western New York this weekend. Anywhere from 1-3 feet of snow is expected from Buffalo into the south towns, according to the National Weather Service.

The NWS is also strongly discouraging travel when the lake effect snow band sets up, which should be after 1-2 pm today. The worst of the storm will be tonight and into Sunday.

Here’s the timing of the lake effect snow band, per the National Weather Service.

It will target just south of Buffalo and the south towns this afternoon before going to the border of the southern tier tonight. It works it way back to the Buffalo metro and north tomorrow morning, before slipping back to the south towns on Sunday afternoon.

As you can see, this snow band will move around a bit, unlike the November snow events of 2014 and 2022.

The Buffalo Bills host the Pittsburgh Steelers at Highmark Stadium this Sunday at 1 pm. As of now, the game will be played at its scheduled time.

The Bills are paying $20 per hour with free food, for those who want to help shovel out the stadium tonight, starting at 10 pm.

The biggest issue for the game is getting to and from the stadium on Sunday. Should be interesting to see how strong the band is and if it’s over the stadium at kickoff.