Avoid Travel on NYS Thruway in Western New York! It's a Whiteout

Lake effect snow in Western New York is causing whiteout conditions and drivers are being told to stay home.

I-90 is covered in snow and ice from Rochester to Buffalo, causing treacherous driving conditions and the New York State Thruway Authority is advising drivers to avoid travel.

Whiteout conditions in the Buffalo region, as you can see from our traffic camera on I-90 near exit 52A. Please stay home if you do not have to travel today. If you are traveling, drive slowly and use caution.

Limited Visibility

There is limited visibility on I-190 at exit 1 at the Buffalo/Cheektowaga city line, according to the New York State Thruway Authority. From the looks of things, it's a sloppy mess.

Snow Totals

Buffalo has already broken records. The National Weather Service said heavy snow Thursday morning left 9.8" at the Buffalo airport, breaking the record of 7.3" in 1974.

If curious about the all-time January one-day snowfall total, that would be 18.3" set back January 11th 1982.

Watertown Too

It's not just the Buffalo area that will see a lot of snow before the storm is over. Watertown is expected to see the worst of it. Up to 18 inches is predicted by 1 AM Friday. Buffalo could see as much as 12 inches total. The snow band will move east overnight, dumping up to 8 inches in the Fulton area before 7 AM Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Live Traffic Cams

If you do have to travel, you can check traffic and weather conditions on the New York State Thruway Authority's live traffic cameras at Thruway.ny.gov/travelers/map.

All that snow and Central New York may only see a few inches. We've seen our fair share of massive snowstorms though. Remember Stella?