BUFFALO, N.Y. — With a Winter Travel Advisory will go into effect Saturday morning and running through Monday, local officials are urging people to stay home and off the roads.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Department of Public Works commissioner Bill Geary said during a Friday news conference that they are expecting an extreme impact in Brant, Hamburg, Eden, Evans, and parts of Orchard Park.
Starting Saturday morning drivers, are encouraged to stay off the roads during the days that follow. The heaviest snow is expected to stop before the Bills' Sunday Night Football game, which will air on NBC and Channel 2.
"If you're in northern Erie County, you're only going to get a minor accumulation of a few inches, around 6 inches," Poloncarz said. "Central Erie County, depending on where you are, you can get an where from 2 feet to 3 feet. In southern Erie County, you might get over 3 feet. We need people to understand where they are geographically and the impact that can have."
The City of Buffalo normally averages about 8 inches of snow this time of year. Local officials are reminding city residents to check the city's website here winter for updates and to stay vigilant on the roads this weekend.
"If you see some plows out there, please give them extra space," Nate Marton, the Buffalo DPW commissioner, said. "They're doing that important work to make sure our streets our clear and safe, and putting salt on, and getting the snow out of the way, and we don't want to be crowding those to create any dangerous situations."
Acting Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon said a 311 call center will be available this weekend if people need help.
"It takes a tremendous workforce, which we have, but it also takes cooperation from the public to know if there is a driving ban in place," Poloncarz said Wednesday. "Please do not go out because you are putting your life at risk, and you're also hindering our ability to respond and actually clear the roads so we can get them open sooner."
Poloncarz said it's important to stay home when severe weather arrives.
"Climate change is real," he said. "We have a community climate action plan for a reason, to address that in regards to reduction of greenhouse gasses. The county can't do it on its own, and we are not going to eliminate all these storms just by our action, so we have to be prepared."