Driving through upstate NY tomorrow (Sat 11/19)

November 18, 2022 5:17 PM

Can anyone give me a read on whether it seems ok to drive through upstate NY (specifically, Watertown/Thousand Islands on 81 to Ontario) tomorrow, Sat 11/19, given the weather? Just from the snow totals and timing/descriptions it looks possibly ok as long as I'm through there during the late afternoon (no plans to leave the highway there), but I don't know if I really understand lake effect snow.

Already postponed my trip once due to the slightly more snowpocalyptic conditions there today, but less excited to push it off one more day. I will if necessary, though.

posted by advil to Travel & Transportation around City of Watertown, NY (4 answers total)

Best answer: I have done this drive during snow. I would be very hesitant to proceed under current conditions. If not snowing while you are actually driving, maybe.
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:05 PM on November 18, 2022

Best answer: You should probably postpone your drive until Sunday.

To be clear... this isn't normal "Lake Effect" snow. While the specific route you have chosen may be relatively less impacted than other areas, the big concern is strain on EMS.
posted by oceano at 10:32 PM on November 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for the replies, I have made the call to not travel today. It's very hard to predict still but the forecast right around the border and into Ontario still sounds like potentially really dangerous driving conditions all day.
posted by advil at 4:57 AM on November 19, 2022 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: Further update: I drove up yesterday (Sunday). I did hit one lingering lake effect band (maybe 15-20 miles wide) between Syracuse and Watertown, and I made it through, but from this experience I can unequivocally say that not driving on Saturday was the right choice (also evidence of recent and very dramatic snowfall for a lot more of Ontario on the 401 than I'd realized). I had missed entirely before being close to it that there was still a very narrow region that had a lake effect warning through Monday, so the other lesson here is to do weather lookups at least every 20 miles... though honestly I don't think I could have understood just how bad even just one of these bands can be without experiencing it.
posted by advil at 6:35 AM on November 21, 2022 [1 favorite]