Heavy snow and high winds will make travel to New York for Steelers-Bills playoff game tricky
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (KDKA) -- With every passing moment, travel from Pittsburgh to Buffalo will become more and more difficult.
The first issue will be intense winds. Wind gusts from the I-79 and I-90 junction near Erie, Pennsylvania, will be gusting to 60 mph or greater Saturday. During the day Saturday, there will also be some snow showers. With winds as strong as expected, even the 1-3 inches of snow that is expected during the day Saturday will make for difficult travel.
While the winds will ease slightly Saturday night, the snowfall rates will pick up greatly. With the SW or WSW nature of the expected winds, this would typically focus bigger snowfall rates near the Lake Erie shoreline.
That said, I-90 runs parallel to that shoreline, and close enough to it that travel Saturday night could be extremely hazardous, especially the closer you get to Buffalo or Orchard Park, New York, where the stadium is located. Snow rates at times could exceed 2 inches per hour, and this would mean whiteouts should be expected, and road crews will not be able to keep up with falling snow of that intensity.
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Sunday morning, the snow and wind will likely continue. If you are not near Buffalo by this point, your chances to get to the game will be near zero.
During the game, another 2-4 inches of snow could fall with strong wind gusts. This will likely lead to lower visibilities and wind chills near, if not below, zero.
After the game, travel may still be very difficult, as the winter storm warning for this area is expected to continue into Monday morning.
If you are going, make sure you pack emergency supplies like water, food, portable chargers and blankets should you get stuck going to or from New York.