The wind caused flooding at the Commercial Slip at Canalside, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. 
Hold onto your Santa hats. It’s going to be very windy Saturday. That wind may also cause flooding along the shores of Lake Erie and the upper Niagara River.

Winds of this magnitude will cause numerous power outages, downed tree limbs and trees, and certainly pose a threat to many holiday decorations.
The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning that goes into effect at 1 p.m. Saturday and extends until 11 p.m.
Sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph are forecasted, with peak gusts between 65 and 70 mph.
Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties are all in the warning zone.
“Damaging winds will bring down numerous trees and power lines. Some property damage likely. Widespread power outages are likely. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles,” meteorologists warned.
Simultaneously, there’s a lakeshore flood warning in effect from 1 p.m. Saturday to 1 a.m. Sunday for the shores off of Lake Erie and the upper Niagara River. Lakeshore flooding may reach 2 feet above flood stage.
Forecasters said these are the spots where flooding is likely:
• Along Route 5 and Hoover Beach in Hamburg.
• Buffalo Harbor and Canalside.
• Dunkirk Harbor.
• Grand Island.
• Cayuga Island.
• Beneath the North Grand Island Bridge at the Lasalle Expressway ramps.
“Very high wave action will also result in significant shoreline erosion,” weather service meteorologists warned.
The Thruway Authority announced Friday night that because of the forecast high winds, empty tractor-trailers, tandems and other high-profile vehicles will be banned from Interstate 190 and from the mainline Thruway between Exit 61 at Ripley and Exit 42 at Geneva, starting at noon Saturday.
It will also be rainy during the day, with a potential for thunderstorms. It will be unusually warm with a high of 65 at noon, then dropping down to 49 during the day.
The forecast prompted the cancellation of the “Santa Land” events planned for Saturday at Chestnut Ridge Park.
“This will be a wide-impact storm, so we are concerned not only with the safety of the people who would be at Chestnut Ridge, but also those driving to get there through worsening weather,” Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Forestry Troy P. Schinzel said in a statement announcing the cancellation.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown announced the city’s waterfront parks will close due to anticipated flooding. Erie Basin Marina, Ralph C. Wilson Centennial Park, Broderick Park and Bird Island Pier will all be closed from noon to 11 p.m. Saturday. He also asked residents to report downed trees using the city’s nonemergency 311 line.
“Based on the weather forecast and warnings, we anticipate wind damage, power outages and lakeshore flooding,” Brown said. “In addition to closing our lakeshore parks starting at noon tomorrow, the City of Buffalo’s Police and Fire Departments, Public Works, Parks & Streets, and Forestry staff are on standby, ready to provide emergency rescues, and handle downed trees and traffic signals, and other storm related damage.”
National Grid said it will “begin mobilizing” 1,000 workers Saturday morning to deal with downed lines and outages across the region.
The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday.
Chief of the Breaking News/Criminal Justice Desk
I’ve worked at The Buffalo News since 2005. I previously worked as a reporter at the New York Daily News and the Charlotte Observer and was a special correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

The rescue attempt ended with the somber news that the woman in the vehicle was already dead before the diver was lowered by helicopter to the vehicle, opened the passenger door, pulled her out and lifted her to shore.

New York State Parks officials haven’t figured out a way to remove the car in which a Williamsville woman died Wednesday from the brink of Niagara Falls without endangering more lives.

New York State park police said no one reported seeing the vehicle go over the brink, so it couldn’t be specific about when it might have occurred.

“Cause and manner of death is still yet to be determined through autopsy,” New York State Park Police Capt. Christopher Rola said in a statement.

Gusts that exceeded 70 mph have died down to about 60 in the early evening.

The new state mandate appears to be more restrictive than a similar mask requirement imposed in Erie County last month, at least when it comes to restaurants, bars and certain work settings.

According police department accident investigators, a vehicle driven by Gerald Caci of Lancaster crossed the median and crashed into another vehicle driven by Karen Loos of East Aurora.

“As I was coming down on the cable, the only thing that was going through my head was, ‘How am I going to get to this survivor?’ ” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Derrian Duryea, who did not know at the time that the woman was already dead.

A powerful storm front blasted through Western New York, sending trees crashing down onto homes and vehicles, closing highways and blacking out more than 90,000 power customers.

Lawrence is on the cover of the December/January issue of Vanity Fair, and for the first time she tells the details of what happened when she was a passenger on a private jet that made an emergency landing in Buffalo four years ago. 
The wind caused flooding at the Commercial Slip at Canalside, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. 
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.

source