Erie County Winter Storm Scale (ECWSS)

About the ECWSS

Basics

• The Erie County Winter Storm Scale (ECWSS) is based upon the Winter Storm Severity Index (WSSI), incorporating additional socioeconomic & geographical characteristics to enhance county & emergency leaders' understanding of a forecasted winter event.
• The scale directly ingests population data, weighting each location proportional to the population it represents.
• Other, more specific demographic & infrastructural datasets (i.e., population over 65 years old, population in houses over 100 years old, distance to nearest hospital) are indirectly ingested.
• The final product is an easy-to-read figure with impact levels by location and as a whole county, as well as information regarding affected populations and infrastructure.
• The Storm Classification is based upon a blend of forecast snow coverage and the percentile of the ECWSS population-normalized value relative to the subset of non-zero snowfall days used in testing.

Thruway Cross-Sections

• Winter weather can be highly consequential along busy routes, such as I-90 (NYS Thruway). These figures were created to aid in understanding snow-related impacts along the Thruway in Erie County and adjacent counties.
• Shown is the snow amount (blue line, y-axis) along the Thruway (x-axis) from west to east. The background color corresponds to the WSSI snow impact level along the route.
• Extended versions of these I-90 cross-sections (NY-PA border to Rochester; Cleveland to Syracuse) are also available. Helpful for thru traffic!

Blowing Snow

• Impacts resulting from blowing snow (i.e., drifting, poor visibility) can compound snow-related impacts during periods of high winds. An experimental index was created to address potential impacts resulting from the combination of falling snow and wind gusts. This product is further described here. Additionally, we have maps of the WSSI's Blowing Snow component.

Presentations & Posters

• Great Lakes Atmospheric Science Symposium (GLASS); November 2, 2024; Oswego, NY (talk)
• Northeast Regional Operational Workshop (NROW); November 14, 2024; Albany, NY (poster)
• American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting; January 16, 2025; New Orleans, LA (poster)

Website and Figures Developed by Matt Seymour
Research Support Specialist, Center of Excellence in Weather & Climate Analytics, University at Albany

Please contact Matt (mseymour2@albany.edu) or Nick Bassill (nbassill@albany.edu) with any questions regarding the website or its contents.

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