New York State Thruway

[vdeane]

I was looking at the traffic cameras on the 511 site this morning.  It's freaky how some areas are completely clear/dry and others are covered with snow.  The Thruway closure between Rochester and Buffalo looks more like an excuse to not plow than anything else; Rochester-Buffalo looks like it would be fine with some salt/plowing, but 59-61 was really bad even when it was still open early this morning.

Watertown seems to be getting hammered as well, but no cameras there.  In general, the snow decreases the further east you go.  Albany doesn't even have snow on the ground in places that aren't shaded.

[empirestate]

I was looking at the traffic cameras on the 511 site this morning.  It's freaky how some areas are completely clear/dry and others are covered with snow.  The Thruway closure between Rochester and Buffalo looks more like an excuse to not plow than anything else; Rochester-Buffalo looks like it would be fine with some salt/plowing, but 59-61 was really bad even when it was still open early this morning.

Well, that and probably an effort to see that detoured traffic is shunted onto viable alternate routes. No point having all the trucks get off just short of Buffalo and sit around getting snowed on.

[cl94]

I was looking at the traffic cameras on the 511 site this morning.  It's freaky how some areas are completely clear/dry and others are covered with snow.  The Thruway closure between Rochester and Buffalo looks more like an excuse to not plow than anything else; Rochester-Buffalo looks like it would be fine with some salt/plowing, but 59-61 was really bad even when it was still open early this morning.

Well, that and probably an effort to see that detoured traffic is shunted onto viable alternate routes. No point having all the trucks get off just short of Buffalo and sit around getting snowed on.

Snow band has been getting the entire thing west of Rochester intermittently. That and there's a travel ban in every town the Thruway passes through between PA and 47. If the wind shifts slightly, the entire thing could be buried. They're doing everything possible to avoid a repeat of 2010 and the bad PR that came with it.

While it may seem a bit overboard, my parents live in the area getting hit and they're getting 4-5" an hour. Plows can't keep up with that. Heck, they live on US 20 and NYSDOT can't keep up because it's falling too fast and drifting. Might not look like much, but this is a lot, even for Buffalo, especially since some of the places hardest hit are typically clear of lake effect.

As of now, you can't get between Rochester and Erie via I-90 and even if it was open, I wouldn't try. US 20 and NY 5 are effectively closed as well. Hell, I-390 is even getting hit. You have to use I-86 to avoid it.

[vdeane]

They're doing everything possible to avoid a repeat of 2010 and the bad PR that came with it.

Yeah, the state has been VERY trigger happy with closures.  I remember some times last winter where the entirety of I-84 was closed simply if there was even a chance of snow within the next 24 hours.  It was as if NYSDOT was protesting the fact that the Thruway handed the road back.

Granted, growing up in Rochester and going to college at Clarkson (which never closes, even if they were getting as much snow as Buffalo gets now, or if an ice storm has put every millimeter of pavement under two inches of very slick ice), thereby driving up I-81 every winter, I probably have much more of a tolerance for winter conditions than most.  I remember one trip up to Clarkson where I passed over a dozen multi-car pileups on I-81; no surprise that the road was closed shortly after I drove it.

[empirestate]

The weather radars at the moment are showing very classic lake effect snow patterns, streaming off the eastern extremities of Lakes Erie and Ontario. This is why Rochester routinely loses the snowfall derby to either Buffalo or Syracuse, as the latter two cities are located in prime snowfall areas, whereas Rochester is relatively sheltered at the midpoint of Ontario's southern shore. The highest accumulations tend to be pretty much where they're happening now, in Buffalo's Southtowns and the Tug Hill region, just east and slightly south of the ends of the lakes.

[cl94]

They're doing everything possible to avoid a repeat of 2010 and the bad PR that came with it.

Yeah, the state has been VERY trigger happy with closures.  I remember some times last winter where the entirety of I-84 was closed simply if there was even a chance of snow within the next 24 hours.  It was as if NYSDOT was protesting the fact that the Thruway handed the road back.

Granted, growing up in Rochester and going to college at Clarkson (which never closes, even if they were getting as much snow as Buffalo gets now, or if an ice storm has put every millimeter of pavement under two inches of very slick ice), thereby driving up I-81 every winter, I probably have much more of a tolerance for winter conditions than most.  I remember one trip up to Clarkson where I passed over a dozen multi-car pileups on I-81; no surprise that the road was closed shortly after I drove it.

That's how we feel about UB. Might not be snowing here, but half of the staff and commuters can't make it in because the line is a couple miles southeast. We closed last year for half a day, which was huge. Most of the area schools ran out of snow days because it was one of the worst winters on record and UB was determined to keep things running.

[KEVIN_224]

Hmmm...the Buffalo Bills are home Sunday at 1 PM with the New York Jets. Having never been west of Cooperstown, I must ask this question: Does the Thruway get relatively close to Orchard Park or the stadium?

[cl94]

Hmmm...the Buffalo Bills are home Sunday at 1 PM with the New York Jets. Having never been west of Cooperstown, I must ask this question: Does the Thruway get relatively close to Orchard Park or the stadium?

Stadium is between US 219 and the Thruway a couple miles south of their intersection. They probably have at least 4-5 feet right now. They're getting pounded, but they'll have everything clear by Saturday. That's pretty certain. Don't know about the side streets, so the stands might be empty, but I bet it'll be on (at least I hope it is, as I have tickets).

[KEVIN_224]

Thank you for the update! I hope your parents are coping with the conditions as best as they can! 

Despite the loss, I'll bet the Miami Dolphins (my favorite team) are glad that their visit to Orchard Park came in week 2, back in September! 

Getting back to roads...was I-86 in the Southern Tier closed, too?

[cl94]

I-86 pretty much missed it and it remains open. Two hours ago, the bad area had close to 5'. NWS issued a statement around 2 that said "you will become trapped" if you drive into the snow band.

[WNYroadgeek]

To my knowledge, I-86 was never closed. Ditto I-390. Traffic bound for Rochester and points east from Erie were diverted onto I-86.

And on a related note, Google Maps' traffic overlay indicates that the Thruway is still closed between I-390 and the PA line.

[KEVIN_224]

http://www.geofffox.com/MT/archives/2014/11/18/buffalo-and-the-worlds-weirdest-weather.php

Former weather man Geoff Fox posted this entry on his blog today. He lived in Buffalo for about 4 years early on in his radio career, before working at ABC and then FOX television here in Hartford/New Haven.

Sometimes I forget how huge a state New York state is compared to Connecticut. In this state, we "only" have the first 58 miles of I-91 from New Haven to Enfield at the Massachusetts border and almost 98 miles of I-84 from Danbury at the NY border to Union at the MA border. I think I-95 from Greenwich at the NY border to North Stonington at the Rhode Island border is 110 miles, but not sure.

Another fun question now. Maybe it's related. Maybe it's not...do any tolls get waived on the open sections of the Thruway during times like these? (We don't have tolls in Connecticut, with our last one abolished in 1989.)

[KEVIN_224]

The New York State Police posted this picture to their Facebook page a while ago. WOW! 

It only said it was the Thruway, south of Buffalo. 

[cl94]

Lackawanna toll barrier. They're still getting slammed. It'll likely move a little further north overnight, getting the rest of the Buffalo area, then it'll reset over the area currently getting hit tomorrow night for another 2-3 feet.

[The Nature Boy]

The New York State Police posted this picture to their Facebook page a while ago. WOW! 

It only said it was the Thruway, south of Buffalo. 

Reports have it getting up to 60 by Monday. Looks like Buffalo will get to experience winter and mud season in the same week.

[MikeSantNY78]

The New York State Police posted this picture to their Facebook page a while ago. WOW! 

It only said it was the Thruway, south of Buffalo. 

Yep - right by the Lackawanna toll plaza; that's US 219 passing over the 90 here. 
Never seen such a monumental storm in my life, other than Christmas week 2001 (80 inches in 7 days), and the infamous Blizzard of '77 (not so much the snow, but the wind making visibility scarce at best).  Spent a total of four hours over the last two days plowing this crap, and the snowthrower has to go in for repair (gear trigger stuck).  Hoping we can call and get it picked up...

[empirestate]

And this isn't even one of The Weather Channel's named storms...

[vdeane]

And this isn't even one of The Weather Channel's named storms...

Looks like we'll have to make a name.  I propose Elsa.  The one over Watertown can be called Ingrid (go watch Once Upon a Time if you don't get why).

[cl94]

And this isn't even one of The Weather Channel's named storms...

Looks like we'll have to make a name.  I propose Elsa.  The one over Watertown can be called Ingrid (go watch Once Upon a Time if you don't get why).

Already named. "Knife". Pretty dumb name, but I didn't expect much more from politicians.

[WNYroadgeek]

Now they're saying the Thruway won't re-open until at least Friday. Wow.

[cl94]

How can it open if they're going to be getting another 2+ feet? They haven't even cleared what fell yesterday. It's crazy. Yet, UB is still open, even though every road leading here is closed.

[route17fan]

Just curious - does the University staff/faculty live on campus or no?

[cl94]

Just curious - does the University staff/faculty live on campus or no?

Heck no. A little under 1/4 lives within a couple miles, but many live within the areas most affected. I have professors who live an hour away and commute in. It got to the point where bus service was stopped, half of the food places are closed because they don't have the workers while those that remain open are short-staffed, travel bans are causing eateries in academic buildings to run out of food, and everything involving people from outside the University except the football game was cancelled.

[The Nature Boy]

Are there fears of flooding when all of this melts? This seems like it could get bad.

[route17fan]

The New York State Police posted this picture to their Facebook page a while ago. WOW! 

It only said it was the Thruway, south of Buffalo. 

It makes me glad I am not a bridge pier - can you imagine the weight of 6 feet of snow on a bridge??