Southern Tier counties bear brunt of wintry change
Mother and son die in crash as lake-effect snow hits parts of region
Heavy lake-effect snow across parts of the region Monday, especially in the Southern Tier, may have contributed to the morning deaths of a Fredonia mother and her 10- year-old son in Chautauqua County, authorities reported.
Accumulations in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties continued piling up Monday as both counties remained under a lake-effect snow warning. The warning, which was originally set to expire at 6 a. m. today, was expected to be lifted sometime overnight as conditions improved.
State police reported the two-car crash occurred at about 6:30 a. m. on a slippery Route 20 in the Town of Portland. Roberta Irwin, 32, was killed in the crash along with her son, Grant. Her 3-year-old daughter, Rose, was listed in stable condition late Monday in the pediatric intensive care unit at Women and Children’s Hospital, hospital spokesman John Moscato said.
Irwin was traveling west on Route 20 when she lost control of her car on the slippery pavement. It veered into the eastbound lane and was struck on the passenger side by a car driven by Carl Philbeck, 26, of Brocton. Philbeck was taken to Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk with non-life-threatening injuries.
The snow began falling across the region late Sunday before northwesterly winds pushed the heavy lake-effect snow bands quickly through the Southtowns into the Southern Tier after midnight.
By Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service reported snowfall totals in Sinclairville of 8.5 inches; Stockton, 8 inches; Mayville, 7.3 inches; and Ellicottville, 8 inches. However, spotters in the areas were still updating totals late Monday.
Weather Service meteorologist Tom Paone said the snow warning was expected to be rolled back a bit as conditions changed for the better Monday evening.
“The lake effect will be winding down,” explained Paone because drier and more stable air along with shifting winds were already starting to take hold early Monday evening.
The heavy, wet snow is not uncommon in lake-effect events at this time of year, Paone said.
“At the beginning of the season, the snow tends to be a little wetter because there tends to be warmer temperatures,” he said.
Still, what a difference a week makes. A week ago today, Western New Yorkers went to the polls on one of the warmest Election Days ever — 68 degrees. That was followed by 68- and 69-degree days and a record- breaking 73 degrees Friday.
Temperatures are expected to moderate a bit over the coming days with decreasing clouds and temperatures in the low 40s forecasted today before clouds and rain move in for the balance of the week with temperatures in the upper 40s Wednesday and into the 50s Thursday and Friday.
