Snow Slams North County
2/5/2007 - DUNKIRK — Heavy snow, bitter cold and whiteout conditions on Super Bowl Sunday turned the area into a venerable ice cream bowl.
The National Weather Service reported that a band of lake-effect snow had stretched over much of Chautauqua County, northwest Cattaraugus County and southern Erie County by 8 p.m. Sunday and moved slowly south. The heaviest snow activity was reported in an area from Findley Lake to Cherry Creek with edges at Silver Creek and Springville.
Poor driving conditions closed the New York State I-90 Thruway in both directions from Lackawanna to Dunkirk, and created an influx of diverted traffic along Route 20 and Route 5. At about 10 p.m. Sunday, the Thruway had been reopened from Lackawanna to Hamburg. The I-90 was still closed between Dunkirk and Hamburg at press time.
Sgt. John Burris, of the New York State Police, said that extremely low visibility was playing the biggest factor in most incidents. While reports filtered in throughout the evening, he said police had not yet faced many of the problems or had not kept up responding to reports.
‘‘The south part of the county is fine,’’ Burris said. ‘‘The north part is bad.’’
Emergency shelters were established at Fredonia High School and the Irving Fire Hall to accommodate stranded motorists and others in need of warmth.
Silver Creek Fire Chief James Tytka, Sr. said Sunday evening that his area had not yet seen any accidents, but at least 12 carloads of people had been transported to the Irving shelter.
‘‘They originally wanted us to take them up to Fredonia, to the school,’’ Tytka said, ‘‘But that wasn’t going to happen.’’
With forecasts and warnings predicting hazardous conditions continuing throughout today, most schools had already closed their doors for the start of the week.
As of Sunday night, a wind chill warning remained in effect for Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties until Monday morning, with lake-effect snow expected to continue throughout Tuesday evening. A wind chill advisory is in effect until Tuesday morning
The National Weather Service reported that a band of lake-effect snow had stretched over much of Chautauqua County, northwest Cattaraugus County and southern Erie County by 8 p.m. Sunday and moved slowly south. The heaviest snow activity was reported in an area from Findley Lake to Cherry Creek with edges at Silver Creek and Springville.
Poor driving conditions closed the New York State I-90 Thruway in both directions from Lackawanna to Dunkirk, and created an influx of diverted traffic along Route 20 and Route 5. At about 10 p.m. Sunday, the Thruway had been reopened from Lackawanna to Hamburg. The I-90 was still closed between Dunkirk and Hamburg at press time.
Sgt. John Burris, of the New York State Police, said that extremely low visibility was playing the biggest factor in most incidents. While reports filtered in throughout the evening, he said police had not yet faced many of the problems or had not kept up responding to reports.
‘‘The south part of the county is fine,’’ Burris said. ‘‘The north part is bad.’’
Emergency shelters were established at Fredonia High School and the Irving Fire Hall to accommodate stranded motorists and others in need of warmth.
Silver Creek Fire Chief James Tytka, Sr. said Sunday evening that his area had not yet seen any accidents, but at least 12 carloads of people had been transported to the Irving shelter.
‘‘They originally wanted us to take them up to Fredonia, to the school,’’ Tytka said, ‘‘But that wasn’t going to happen.’’
With forecasts and warnings predicting hazardous conditions continuing throughout today, most schools had already closed their doors for the start of the week.
As of Sunday night, a wind chill warning remained in effect for Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties until Monday morning, with lake-effect snow expected to continue throughout Tuesday evening. A wind chill advisory is in effect until Tuesday morning
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