power outages

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office has issued a warning and reminder for residents to be prepared for an impending storm by taking care of errands in advance, while Gov. Kathy Hochul has already declared a State of Emergency for several New York State counties including Genesee in light of forecasts for strong winds, freezing temperatures and lake effect snow over the next three days.

The feisty winter weather is likely to cause power outages and potentially life-threatening conditions beginning on Saturday, although the call for strong winds have been issued for Friday evening, according to weather forecasts. 

Whiteout conditions are possible Saturday and Sunday, with difficult to near-impossible travel conditions. There is a travel ban for empty and tandem trucks/trailers to begin Saturday at 9 a.m. on Thruway and other  state roads in Western New York.

Hochul has deployed 100 members of the New York National Guard to Western New York to support emergency response operations, and encourages New Yorkers to enjoy the Buffalo Bills game from home. Those planning to attend should pay close attention to weather and travel updates, a press release from Hochul's office states.

New Yorkers Can Subscribe for Emergency Alerts Here

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office further advises that, due to the winter storm anticipated to affect the Genesee County area starting Friday evening with high winds and continuing throughout the weekend with the addition of areas of heavy snow accumulations and zero visibility, residents should "plan ahead, complete any necessary errands now and avoid traveling during these storm-like conditions."

UPDATED 10:28 p.m. from the National Weather Service:

If you've dared to go outside for even a few minutes, it's quite apparent that the biting wind and snow have remained relentless this evening. According to the National Grid outage map, the number of outages is going up by the minute, as it was 1,879 Genesee County customers affected at 6:38 p.m., and that ticked up to 2,033 by 6:40 p.m. 

National Grid is "assessing the situation," according to the outage site. That means there is no estimated time of power restoration yet. To check on outages in your area, and estimated timelines of repair, go HERE.

The Natonal Weather Service reported a temperature of just 2-degrees shortly before 6 p.m., with winds up to 40 mph.

Photo: Streetlights glow through the haze of wintry elements and a dark gray sky Friday evening on a Batavia city street. 

Photo by Joanne Beck.

There are at least 16 power outages reported in Genesee County after strong winds swept through the region overnight and are expected to continue into the early afternoon.

The largest outage appears to be in Pavilion and Stafford, just northwest of Texaco Town, with 87 customers without power. A crew is assigned and power restoration is expected by 4:30 p.m.

An outage in Batavia and Elba, just west of Route 98 has 52 customers without power. A crew is assigned and power is expected to be restored by 4 p.m.

In East Oakfield, 31, one customers are without power and should have it back by 4 p.m.

In Alexander, east of the Village on Route 20, 31 customers are without power. Restoration is expected by 4 p.m.

In Alabama, just west of the Route 63/77 intersection, 23 customers are without power. No crew has been assigned but power should be restored by 4 p.m.

In Byron, near Route 237 and Route 262, 20 customers are without power. Power should be restored by 4 p.m.

There is one outage in the Village of Le Roy with 13 customers affected and restoration expected by 4 p.m.

In the City of Batavia, there are two outages, one on the Southside, one near Clinton Street, with fewer than five customers affected at each location and power should be restored by 4 p.m.

An estimated 513 National Grid customers are without power along the west side of Bank Street, from just north of Main Street, Batavia, out to the County Airport.

The outage was reported at 8:42 a.m. and there is no ETA yet for restoration of power.

UPDATE: Power has been restored.

At this hour, National Grid reported about 410 homes are without power in Genesee County.

The areas most widely struck:

• Town of Batavia: 260
• Town of Bergen: 25
• Town of Pavilion: 53
• Town of Stafford: 56

There is no ETA  listed for power to be restored in those locations.

UPDATE: Most of this power -- all except Bergen -- has been restored.