As an Arctic blast brings heavy snow across the Great Lakes region, the Buffalo Bills NFL team has enlisted the help of fans to clear snow from Highmark Stadium ahead of their Sunday night game against the San Francisco 49ers. The region, hit by up to three feet of snow over the Thanksgiving weekend, is bracing for more winter weather as temperatures plummet.
Communities along the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are particularly hard-hit, with snow snarling roads and highways during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), more than two million residents across New York, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania were under lake-effect snow warnings as of Sunday morning.
The lake-effect snow, a common winter phenomenon in the region, occurs when cold air moves across the relatively warmer waters of the Great Lakes, causing intense, localized snowstorms. By Saturday, Buffalo was blanketed under more than four feet of snow, with some areas forecast to receive up to six feet by Tuesday morning. Travel conditions remain dangerous, and heavy snow bands are expected to continue into next week.
To prepare for the game, the Buffalo Bills called on volunteers to help shovel snow from the stadium. Photos and videos posted on social media showed plows pushing snow off the field while volunteers cleared the seating areas and stairs in near-blizzard conditions.
This extreme weather has caused significant disruptions, particularly along the Interstate 90, a major route connecting Buffalo, New York, to Cleveland, Ohio. With snow accumulation of over two feet in some areas, the storm has resulted in road closures and difficult travel conditions. The NWS has warned that travel could be “very difficult to impossible” in some spots due to the persistent snow showers.
In response to the storm’s severity, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in 11 counties. The National Guard has been deployed in both New York and Pennsylvania to assist with snow removal and ensure public safety. The heavy snowfall also led to road closures across the region, disrupting post-Thanksgiving travel for millions of Americans.
With forecasts predicting more snow throughout the weekend and into next week, the Great Lakes region remains on high alert as the first lake-effect snowfall of the season continues to wreak havoc.
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