The San Francisco 49ers may end up getting lucky and avoiding the worst of a snowstorm that’s hitting Buffalo this weekend ahead of Sunday night’s matchup against the Bills.
A “lake effect” storm is hitting the Buffalo area starting Friday night, and forecasts are increasing the amount of snow expected to fall on the region bordering Lake Erie. New York’s State Weather Risk Communication Center put out an updated forecast specifically for the Bills-49ers game, indicating that the most likely scenario sees Orchard Park receiving 20-30 inches of snow between Friday and Sunday’s game. But by the time the game begins, the worst of the storm’s weather may not impact the Bills’ Orchard Park stadium, thanks to what the center called a “slight change in the wind direction.”
The center expressed it has medium confidence in its current forecast, while other meteorologists from the area aren’t as certain. WIVB-TV’s Mike Doyle said around 12-18 inches of snow may be on the ground in the area surrounding the stadium on Sunday.
But everyone is bracing for rough road conditions around the area in the run-up to gameday. The National Weather Service expects 3-4 feet of snow to fall on Orchard Park between Friday evening and Monday evening and gave a stern warning to anyone traveling.
“Travel will be difficult to impossible with deep snow cover on roads and extremely poor visibility,” the weather service advisory reads. The state’s weather risk communication center is also warning travelers, particularly those coming to the game from south of the stadium, of the potentially hazardous conditions.
The weather doesn’t seem to be making any impact on the 49ers’ travel plans, though. The team is practicing in Santa Clara on Friday afternoon before flying to New York on Friday afternoon; the 49ers are scheduled to land in Buffalo just before midnight.
The 49ers and Bills are expected to kick off at 5:20 p.m. Pacific Sunday, with the game televised on NBC.