Lake effect snow storms are some of the most dangerous storms to drive in.

[fightforfreedom]

Years ago I was driving on interstate 90 west towards Buffalo NY. It was a sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. All of the sudden a gray/black cloud appeared ahead. Instant white out. All I could see was the red tail lights in front of me. I remember saying to the car in front of me, Don't slow down, Don't hit the brakes. It was terrifying.

You cannot slow down or pull over. You just have to keep on driving and hope nobody in front of you panics and hits their brakes. If they do it will result in a massive pile up.

Five minutes later the snow suddenly stops and the sun reappears. Not a cloud in the sky.

Twenty minutes later, another gray/black cloud appears, whiteout.

What they are going through in western NY right now is unbelievable. All lake effect snow.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. What you describe is a snow squall, which can happen with or without the lake effect.

[Archae]

2. I experienced a rainstorm like that.

I was riding along with my oldest sister, and my Mom.

It rained suddenly, so hard the wipers on full blast couldn't keep up.

My sister (who was driving) pulled over, and after 10 minutes, it was sunny.
I was grateful we were on top of a hill.

[fightforfreedom]

3. You were lucky you could pull over.

What I drove into made it impossible to pull over. You can see nothing, not even the road. You just have to follow the two red tail lights in front of you and hope nobody panics. This was an interstate highway so people were driving at least 65 miles an hour. You can't really slow down because somebody could hit you from behind. Scary shit.

[SoBlueInFL]

7. It seems that each time I've experienced the sudden deluge that makes the rain version r/o

of a white out, it's been on an interstate. I-10 in conditions like that is a nightmare--especially in MS where the drivers seem to all have road rage.

As a teen, I remember my mother's car throwing a windshield wiper during a storm like that while driving on the FL Turnpike. We were lucky that there was a service plaza where she bought and applied some Rain-X. They didn't have the correct wiper blade in stock but the Rain-X did the trick.

[HUAJIAO]

4. Probably near Batavia !

It always snows in Batavia.
The death zone !!



No, it's not funny, but those of us who live here know to beware between Batavia and Buffalo.

[fightforfreedom]

5. Is that what they call it, the death zone?

Good name for it.

[HUAJIAO]

6. No, I just gave it that name. I live a bit south of Rochester

and always include Batavia in my search when checking the incoming weather..
It is right in the middle of a lake effect snow band for whatever reason. There can be no snow in Buffalo or Rochester but white out around Batavia.

[fightforfreedom]

8. I don't remember exactly where I was on interstate 90 that day. It was many years ago.

I do remember driving through 3 or 4 of those storms, one right after another. I learned my lesson that day. I would not describe them as snow squalls, I would describe them as mini-blizzards. Complete white out.

[HUAJIAO]

9. I know just what you mean.

[róisín_dubh]

10. Happened to me while I was driving on 81 (I think)...

north to Montreal. I was so terrified I nearly puked when we made it through.

[PCIntern]

11. Upstate NY snows, man...

I have a distinct memory of sitting in my college chemistry class and watching the snow pile up at an unbelievable rate. The sidewalks have been cleared when I got into the classroom and I swear they were 9 inches of snow 50 minutes later. The other posters here who talked about their driving experiences were absolutely on the money. I remember driving once on the Thruway from Western New York to Poughkeepsie, where my brother was living at the time. . A Statie pulled me over and told me that I needed to drive as fast as possible to stay ahead of the storm, and he said we will not stop you just keep going east and keep moving. I was doing 90 and people were passing me like I was in reverse. By the end of the weekend, I was able to get back but with great difficulty there was like 3 1/2 feet of snow and ice.

[Irish_Dem]

12. Same thing happened to me when I was driving to Cleveland.

Was near Cleveland on the interstate. Beautiful sunny day, cold, but not a cloud in the sky.
All of a sudden it is a white out. Two feet of snow are dumped on the road.

The weird thing is the Cleveland drivers are driving like bats out of hell, not a care in the world.
While I am on the side of the road trying not to have a nervous breakdown.