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Lake-effect storms causing havoc in New York, Michigan

Lake-effect storms are wreaking havoc along the Great Lakes.

Most major highways in western New York are closed because of hazardous conditions caused by lake-effect storms, including a 105-mile stretch of the Thruway.

State police and the Thruway Authority say Interstate 90 is shut down in both directions between Exit 46 outside Rochester and Exit 59 at Dunkirk. Interstate 190, the Niagara Thruway, is closed southbound from I-290 to I-90.

Routes 219 and 400 in the Buffalo area have also been closed, and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown has issued a driving ban for the southern sections of the city.

Officials in many of the towns south of Buffalo have issued driving advisories as they deal with clearing roads from a foot to nearly 3 feet of snow that has fallen since Monday evening.

Here is a detailed list of travel situations in New York as provided by the New York State Motor Truck Association:

NYS Thruway is closed in both directions to all vehicles between Exit 46 in Henrietta and Exit 59 in Dunkirk. The I-190 Niagara Thruway is closed Southbound between Exit 16, I-290 and the I-90. All tandem trailer combinations are banned on the NYS Thruway between exits 46 and 61. US Route 219 is closed in both directions between I-90 (NYS Thruway) and Olean Road in Aurora. Route 5 (Buffalo Skyway) is closed in both directions between I-190 (Niagara Thruway) and Tifft Street in Buffalo.
A travel ban has been issued for:

Town of Marilla Town of Elma Village of Lancaster Town of Lancaster Town of Orchard Park Village of Orchard Park Town of Evans South Buffalo
A travel advisory has been issued for:

Village of Blasdell Town of Hamburg Village of Hamburg
Meanwhile in Michigan, icy roads and winds gusting to 44 miles per hour are causing dangerous driving conditions in parts of Michigan as the state braces for another round of lake-effect snow.

Slippery roads and spin-out crashes were reported on Monday in the Detroit area, which had a light coating of snow on the ground.

The National Weather Service reports snow was falling in wide areas of the state at 7 p.m. Monday, with wind gusts reaching 44 mph at Copper Harbor at the tip of upper Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula and 37 Benton Harbor in the southwestern Lower Peninsula. Temperatures were in the teens and 20s.

The weather service says the Lake Michigan shoreline could see 6-16 inches of snow by Tuesday, while 4-18 inches could fall along Lake Superior.

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