A cold front moved through the region during the night of the 13th, with colder air arriving by the morning of the 14th.  The wind direction was from the southwest initially as lake effect snow developed on the 14th, with intensifying bands of lake effect snow focusing on the Buffalo Metro area off Lake Erie and the Watertown area off Lake Ontario during the afternoon.  The heaviest snow fell during the afternoon and evening commute with significant impact to the drive home in the Buffalo and Watertown areas with snowfall rates of up to 3 inches per hour and multiple reports of thunder and lightning.  A second cold front crossed the area on the evening of the 14th, forcing winds to become more westerly and push lake effect snow into the western Southern Tier off Lake Erie, and the Tug Hill region off Lake Ontario.  The lake effect snow continued overnight on the 14th and into the early morning of the 15th on westerly flow.  The heaviest snow during this period was found off Lake Ontario, focusing on the central and northern part of the Tug Hill Plateau. A strong arctic cold front then crossed the region from north to south during the late morning and early afternoon of the 15th.  Following the passage of the arctic front, winds become more northwest, with a band of heavy snow settling south into the Rochester area during the late afternoon and evening.  The combination of heavy snow and gusty winds brought a difficult afternoon and evening drive in the Rochester area.  Heavy lake effect snow persisted through much of the night on the 15th for Rochester and Orleans County before tapering off on the 16th.  The lake effect snow off Lake Erie was less intense during this period, with a broad area of light to moderate snow across the western Southern Tier in west to northwest flow. Finally on the 16th, the Lake Erie lake effect snow intensified once again as it moved north across the Buffalo Metro area, with a 2 to 4 hour period of heavy snow from late morning through mid-afternoon.
Off Lake Erie, specific snowfall reports included: 18 inches at Springville, 15 inches at Kennedy, 12 inches at Franklinville, Corfu, Elma and Cheektowaga, 11 inches at Little Valley, 10 inches at Buffalo Airport, Warsaw, Jamestown and Lackawanna, 9 inches at Allegany State Park, Akron, Colden and West Seneca, 8 inches at Rushford, Athol Springs, Sardinia and East Aurora, and 7 inches at Olean, Williamsville, Kenmore, Batavia, Clarence Center and Allegany.  Off Lake Ontario, specific snowfall reports included: 27 inches at Redfield, 25 inches at Carthage, 20 inches at Glenfield and Brockport, 19 inches at Hooker, 16 inches at Mannsville, 14 inches at Rochester Airport, 13 inches at Watertown and Sandy Creek, 12 inches at Brockport, 10 inches at Osceola, Lacona, Irondequoit and Webster, 9 inches at Highmarket, Bennetts Bridge, Walworth, Palmyra, Sodus, Lyndonville and Constableville, and 8 inches at Beaver Falls.

Lake-Effect Snow in NORTHERN ERIE, NEW YORK
From 13-DEC-16 13:00:00 to 14-DEC-16 22:45:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 20.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Lake-Effect Snow in GENESEE, NEW YORK
From 13-DEC-16 13:00:00 to 14-DEC-16 22:45:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 20.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Lake-Effect Snow in SOUTHERN ERIE, NEW YORK
From 14-DEC-16 14:00:00 to 15-DEC-16 06:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 20.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Lake-Effect Snow in CHAUTAUQUA, NEW YORK
From 14-DEC-16 19:00:00 to 16-DEC-16 03:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Lake-Effect Snow in CATTARAUGUS, NEW YORK
From 14-DEC-16 19:00:00 to 16-DEC-16 03:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 20.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Lake-Effect Snow in JEFFERSON, NEW YORK
From 13-DEC-16 13:00:00 to 15-DEC-16 16:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 15.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Lake-Effect Snow in LEWIS, NEW YORK
From 13-DEC-16 13:00:00 to 15-DEC-16 16:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Lake-Effect Snow in OSWEGO, NEW YORK
From 13-DEC-16 19:00:00 to 15-DEC-16 04:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 20.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Lake-Effect Snow in MONROE, NEW YORK
From 15-DEC-16 18:00:00 to 16-DEC-16 05:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 15.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Lake-Effect Snow in NORTHERN ERIE, NEW YORK
From 16-DEC-16 11:30:00 to 16-DEC-16 17:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 15.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter