Cold air crossing the warm waters of Lakes Erie and Ontario resulted in lake effect squalls that dropped over two feet downwind of the lakes.Off Lake Erie, the squall developed around midday on the 20th in a southwest flow ahead of a cold front. Snow fell at the rate of two to four inches per hour for several hours. The storm crippled much of the Buffalo metro area. Tens of thousands of people were stranded in autos as city and suburban streets became clogged with traffic and came to a standstill. Three thousand school children were stranded in buses which were unable to complete their routes. Snowfall in this early stage were as high as two feet in a narrow strip about three miles wide. After the passage of a cold front the squall moved south on the northwest flow setting up across the western southern tier of New York. Nearly two feet of snow fell across that region on the 21st-22nd. The squall lifted north again on the 22nd ahead of another cold front with several inches in southern Erie county. After the frontal passage late on the 22nd, the squall moved back south and dissipated as strong high pressure built in across the area.  Erie, Chautauqua, and Cattaraugus counties were declared federal disaster areas. Specific snowfall reports included: Stockton 31"; New Albion 30"; Sherman 27"; Buffalo 16-25"; Amherst 24"; Jamestown 22" and Ashford 15".Off Lake Ontario, strong squalls set up on the 20th over Oswego county then drifted south on the 21st into the Syracuse area. The squall lifted north on the 22nd across Oswego into Jefferson county late in the day. The flow turned to northwest, then north after the frontal passage late on the 22nd and brought  several inches of  fluffy snow to the south shore of Lake Ontario including the Rochester area. Specific reports included: Parish 28"; West Monroe 26"; North Osceola 24"; Oswego 12-24"; Watertown 8-16" and Rochester 6".

Heavy Snow in ERIE, NEW YORK
From 20-NOV-00 14:30:00 to 20-NOV-00 14:30:00 (EST)
Property damage: 20M
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in CATTARAUGUS, NEW YORK
From 21-NOV-00 05:00:00 to 21-NOV-00 05:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 10M
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in NIAGARA, NEW YORK
From 20-NOV-00 11:00:00 to 20-NOV-00 11:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 500K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in LEWIS, NEW YORK
From 22-NOV-00 02:00:00 to 22-NOV-00 02:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 500K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in GENESEE, NEW YORK
From 20-NOV-00 16:00:00 to 20-NOV-00 16:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 500K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in JEFFERSON, NEW YORK
From 22-NOV-00 02:00:00 to 22-NOV-00 02:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 1M
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in LEWIS, NEW YORK
From 21-NOV-00 11:00:00 to 21-NOV-00 11:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 500K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in ALLEGANY, NEW YORK
From 22-NOV-00 05:00:00 to 22-NOV-00 05:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 1M
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in NORTHERN CAYUGA, NEW YORK
From 22-NOV-00 06:00:00 to 22-NOV-00 06:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 250K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in LIVINGSTON, NEW YORK
From 21-NOV-00 18:00:00 to 21-NOV-00 18:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 250K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in WAYNE, NEW YORK
From 22-NOV-00 06:00:00 to 22-NOV-00 06:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 250K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in ORLEANS, NEW YORK
From 20-NOV-00 10:00:00 to 20-NOV-00 10:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 250K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in WYOMING, NEW YORK
From 21-NOV-00 06:00:00 to 21-NOV-00 06:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 500K
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in OSWEGO, NEW YORK
From 21-NOV-00 10:00:00 to 21-NOV-00 10:00:00 (EST)
Property damage: 1M
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow in CHAUTAUQUA, NEW YORK
From 21-NOV-00 06:50:00 to 21-NOV-00 06:50:00 (EST)
Property damage: 10M
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER