“Heavy lake-effect snow” is making a heavy January push for phrase of the year in Erie County.
The National Weather Service in Cleveland has issued a winter storm watch for Erie County for heavy lake-effect snow from Tuesday at 1 a.m. through Thursday at 1 a.m. The Ashtabula County, Ohio, lakeshore is under the same watch. Low temperatures will be in the teens at times, and wind chill values could be below zero.
Take a tour by webcam: What’s the weather like around Erie County and nearby?
Conditions are expected to be similar in and around Chautauqua County, New York, where the weather service in Buffalo has instituted a lake-effect snow warning from 1 p.m. Monday to 4 a.m. Thursday.
Here’s what to know about the coming days’ weather around the area.
Erie County weather forecast: Winter storm watch
The weather service in Cleveland forecast calls for the possibility of 8 inches to 16 inches of snowfall for Erie during the watch period. Travel could become difficult.
More: Is Lake Erie freezing over yet? Status of ice cover on the lake this winter
The greatest snowfall is expected Tuesday. Five inches to 9 inches of new snow is possible during the day, with an additional 2 inches to 4 inches possible Tuesday night. An inch to 2 inches of new snow could fall Monday, with 1 inch to 3 inches possible Monday night and an inch to 3 inches possible Wednesday.
The low will plunge to around 15 Monday night, with wind-chill values as low as zero. Winds will be from the west at 18-20 mph, but gusting as high as 31 mph.
Tuesday’s high will be around 21, but wind-chill values could be near minus 2. The low will be near 18. Winds will be from the west at around 20 mph and gusting to 31 mph.
Wednesday’s high will be near 25 and the low around 12.
More: It’s been a snowy winter in Erie. How does it compare to last year and an average season?
Chautauqua County forecast: Lake-effect snow warning
The weather service in Buffalo forecast calls for heavy lake-effect snow late Monday afternoon through Thursday morning. Total accumulations of 8 inches to 18 inches are possible where the lake snows persist. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Travel could become difficult, especially during the Monday night and Tuesday morning commutes.
Low temperatures will be around 10 Monday and Wednesday, 13 Tuesday and 15 Thursday. West winds and wind gusts will drive down the wind chill.
More: Life beneath the snows of Erie winters
Stay up to date on Erie-area weather
Return to GoErie.com for updates. Get the latest AccuWeather forecast details and radar images for your ZIP code at goerie.com/weather. Download the GoErie app for iOS or Android for mobile-friendly forecasts.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA entering winter storm watch for heavy lake-effect snow