County Director of EMS Noel Guttman said in a release that county officials attended briefings with local and national weather reporting organizations about the potential for severe storms in our region today.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo‘s hazardous weather outlook states that strong to severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and tonight. The outlook reports that while the main severe weather threat will be damaging straight line winds and localized heavy rain, there will also be a non-zero potential for large hail and a tornado or two with the tornado risk greatest across the western Southern Tier.

Guttman said that National Grid and NYSEG are pre-positioning crews to be able to rapidly address any power outages. County Officials encourage residents to take precautions, avoid and report downed power lines, and follow any warnings that are issued about the storm.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, and Governor Kathy Hochul hold a storm press briefing (December 26, 2022)

At least 27 people have died in Erie County following a winter storm that paralyzed a good portion of Western New York over the Christmas Holiday weekend.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz confirmed via Twitter of the 27 people who have died that 3 of the deaths were from an EMS Delay, 14 were from exposure, 3 were from shoveling or snow blowing cardiac events; 4 were from no heat; and 3 were those found in a vehicle. He said unfortunately he expects the number of deaths to still increase.

Poloncarz said driving bans remain in effect for Buffalo and Lackawanna with the rest of Erie County under a travel advisory.

The New York State Thruway remains closed from the Pennsylvania line to Exit 46 in Henrietta. The Thruway Authority was expecting to provide an update this morning on that situation.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo said the four-day storm total at the Buffalo Airport was 50 inches of snow. The storm, which had blizzard conditions, left hundreds of motorists stranded and 100,000 without power over the weekend.

President Joe Biden has approved a request by Governor Kathy Hochul for a federal declaration of emergency for Erie and Genesee Counties. The Emergency Declaration will provide immediate federal assistance to impacted counties to support ongoing response and recovery operations.

Hochul also deployed an additional 220 National Guard soldiers to the Western New York region, bringing the total of deployments to approximately 430.

National Weather Service in Buffalo Winter Storm Summary for Friday, December 23-Saturday, December 24, 2022

State and local crews are making final preparations ahead of a powerful winter storm that is expected to unleash heavy snow along with strong winds in Western New York.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel said Emergency Services Director Noel Guttman has been in contact with Sunset Bay and upper lakeshore fire departments, “They are ready to house individuals should the need arise. Many of those people have been through this unfortunately before. They’re saying this time that this is a ‘once in a lifetime’ hurricane force winds in excess of 60 to 70 miles per hour, but we are prepared.”

Wendel said a briefing will take place today between Western New York elected officals. Governor Kathy Hochul has also directed state agencies to prepare emergency response assets in advance of the significant winter weather system.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo has said flooding is likely along the Lake Erie Shoreline, including Sunset Bay area and the Dunkirk Harbor. This is in addition to freezing spray caused by very strong winds that could gust as high as 60 miles per hour.

The weather service said temperatures will plummet from the upper 30s into the teens Friday in a very short period of time. This flash freeze will make roads ice up quickly.

They added that travel will be difficult to impossible this weekend, including Friday. Heavy snow, with total snow accumulations of 1 to 2 feet in most persistent snows, is expected.

Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Very strong winds could cause extensive tree damage and numerous power outages. And cold wind chills as low as 25 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

City officials said there were at least two reports of trees landing on houses on Beechview Avenue and at East 7th and Liberty Streets.

The National Weather Service reported a tree branch landing on a motorcyclist in the city, causing injuries.

There were some initial power outages caused by the storm that the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities reported as being resolved.

The National Weather Service also reported trees and wires down across Chautauqua County including Bemus Point, Falconer, and Gerry.

National Weather Service in Buffalo Wind Gusts Recorded for March 6, 2022

Gusty winds caused some issues in the Jamestown area on Sunday.

The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities posted on social media that wind brought down a limb on Prospect Street between Prather and McKinley, causing a transformer to catch on fire. That area was without power for the time period it took crews to address the situation. The Fluvanna area also had a small electric outage yesterday due to high winds.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo said Fredonia had the highest gust of wind for the county coming in at 55 miles per hour, followed by Dunkirk at 53 miles per hour. In Jamestown, the highest gust recorded yesterday afternoon was 43 miles per hour at the airport.

Overnight, there were reports that the Route 60 south of Jamestown was closed between Peck Settlement Road to Route 62. Route 62 also was closed between Frewsburg to Riverside road.

Reports said Martin Road Extension had to be closed and Jones & Gifford Avenue in the city of Jamestown also was closed.

Motorists should use caution and never try to drive through a flooded area.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo also said temperatures this morning are below freezing, causing wet roads to freeze. The combination of freezing roads and steady snow falling is already causing conditions on area roadways to deteriorate, with poor driving conditions expected to continue through the morning commute.

Fairmount Ave. in Lakewood. Photo by Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy

Many areas across Chautauqua County received at least 2 inches of rain this past weekend, with the town of Gerry receiving almost 5 inches.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo released rainfall reports for midnight Saturday, July 17th through midnight today. Gerry received 4.92 inches with one spotter in Jamestown recording 3.42 inches. Falconer 3.14 and Kennedy received 2.88.

A flash flood warning was hoisted several times by the National Weather Service between Friday and Saturday for roads and underpasses covered with water.