Hurricane Force Winds Gusts Reported in Western New York Town

It's the first full work week of 2024, and unfortunately Mother Nature decided to wait until the new year to bring winter to Western New York.

After a quiet December, snow, rain and wind have been the story the last week, and will be for the next week based on forecasts.

A major storm system is sweeping through the Midwest and northeast -- bringing snow, rain and a whole lot of wind.

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There's a High Wind Warning in place for all of Western New York until Wednesday. Wind gusts could reach the 70's but that's already been reached.

74 mph wind gusts have been reported in Dunkirk, which are hurricane force winds. Anything 75 and over is labeled that, and that's already the story in Western New York.

The worst winds are expected to be the worst along the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario shoreline, with wind gusts reaching around 60 mph in the City of Buffalo.

Here's the timeline of wind gusts from the National Weather Service.

Driving will be difficult today, especially on the expressways and thruway. Please drive slowly and take your time. There's an empty and tandem trailer ban on the I-90 today and for good reason.

Leave your phone charged if you can, in case you lose power. You can also make sure you have candles and flashlights ready.

The bad news is that we will see high wind gusts into tomorrow. We should also see string winds this weekend with snow on the way, although it won't be this bad.

Winter has officially arrived.