Winter Storm Watch

Locations Affected

Buffalo, NY ∙ Niagara Falls, NY ∙ Richland, NY ∙ Fredonia, NY ∙ Fort Drum, NY ∙ Brant, NY ∙ Greig, NY ∙ Carrollton, NY ∙ Lake Erie Beach, NY ∙ Eden, NY

Full Alert Message

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Buffalo NY 1252 PM EST Fri Jan 16 2026 ...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON... * WHAT...Heavy lake effect snow possible. Potential total snow accumulation 7 inches or more in the most persistent lake snows. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph creating blowing and drifting snow with very poor visibility. * WHERE...Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Chautauqua, and Cattaraugus Counties. * WHEN...From Sunday evening through Wednesday afternoon. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous conditions could impact the early week morning and evening commutes. Gusty winds could down tree branches and cause isolated power outages. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Lake effect snowbands are expected to oscillate throughout this event with the greatest duration of lake snows likely from the Buffalo Metro area to Batavia southward. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Narrow bands of heavy snow could bring rapidly changing road conditions and visibilities. Localized travel problems will be possible.

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