Snowfall totals were in the 6-9 inches range near Niagara Falls and North Tonawanda and over to St. Catharines, Ontario...with 3 to 6 inches across the rest of metro Buffalo. 6 inches or more also fell over portions of western Chautauqua County with the front. The Lake effect added several inches to the Perrysburg and Springville areas on Thursday.
East
of lake Ontario...the event was almost totally lake-effect as less than
an inch fell with the frontal passage Wednesday night. A rather intense
band set up over Oswego county before dawn Thursday and extended well east
across Oneida County to Glens Falls in the Hudson Valley. This band dropped
south to near Syracuse by midday before
lifting
north during the afternoon and evening...finally weakening near Watertown
by daybreak Friday. Totals were over a foot across a large portion of Oswego
County and east into the Tug Hill...with over 6" from just north of Syracuse
to Adams and Barnes Corners/Hooker.
This was the fourth significant Lake effect event in two weeks across western and central New York. The conditions were favorable off Lake Erie only for a short time with the strong dynamics of the cold front. Lake effect set up on Thursday despite lowering inversions due to extreme instability and moist low levels. The activity hung on longer than expected thru much of Thursday night despite very low cap. The Ontario situation was better with slightly higher inversions...enabling the activity to be more intense and longer lasting.