An extraordinary lake-effect snow event has buried towns downwind of Lakes Erie and Ontario over the holiday weekend, with storm totals measured in feet in parts of western New York, northwest Pennsylvania, and northeast Ohio. States of emergency were declared as snowfall rates of two to three inches per hour paralyzed travel and strained infrastructure.

Why Lake-Effect Snow Threatens Power

Lake-effect snow is often heavy and wet, and when several feet of it accumulate on lines and tree limbs, outages follow. Bitter cold usually arrives with these events, which means a home without power is also a home rapidly losing heat, with frozen pipes soon to follow.

Preparing for Winter Outages

• Inspect your standby generator and confirm cold-weather readiness, including battery and oil condition.
• Run a test cycle to make sure the unit starts and transfers power in freezing temperatures.
• Keep natural gas or propane systems serviced, and clear snow away from meters, vents, and the generator itself.
• Consider whole-home backup from Generac or Kohler to protect heat, well pumps, and sump pumps all winter.

Stay Informed

The lake-effect machine keeps running as long as cold air flows over warm water. Monitor National Weather Service snow forecasts through the early winter.