A Wind Chill Warning remains in effect as the winds picked-up across Chautauqua County last night... especially in the north county. A Lake Effect Snow Warning took affect late Monday morning... and, continues until 6 AM Wednesday. The National Weather Service says... after getting a few inches of snow during the day -- mainly to the north -- another 7 to 14 inches could fall in some areas... with more today. That is making travel difficult... if not impossible in some areas. Forecaster Aaron Reynolds in Buffalo adds the Wind Chills have plummeted the mercury to dangerous levels. Just after 10 PM last night... the actual temperature here at the Media One Studios reached 10-below zero without the Wind Chill. With the Wind Chill... the Jamestown Airport was at 41-below at 11 last night. Snow picked up late yesterday afternoon... but, we still haven't seen much more than an inch of the white stuff. Again... the National Weather Service is continuing a Lake Effect Snow Warning now to 6 AM Wednesday.... and, a Wind Chill Warning until 6 PM Tuesday.
We shouldn't see a lot of Lake Effect Snow in the immediate Jamestown-area... but, temperatures are expected to drop below zero in most of Western New York through this morning. A Wind Chill Warning runs through 6 tonight. Chautauqua County Director of Public Health and Human Services Christine Schuyler says it's important to dress properly if you must venture out. Schuyler says you should also guard against such dangers as frost-bite and hypothermia. She reminds residents that one of the best ways to keep yourself warm is wearing a hat. The National Weather Service is still calling for temperatures of 10 to 15-below through this morning... with Wind Chills of 35 to 40-below zero.
The county is also taking steps to help protect residents from the effects of this frigid Winter Storm. County Executive Vince Horrigan is urging no unnecessary travel... and, to exercise extreme caution if you must. In addition... the county's Emergency Operations Center in Mayville will be open tonight. For emergencies... dial 9-1-1. For other storm-related concerns... or more information... contact the center at 753-4341.
A stretch of the State Thruway that goes from Buffalo to the Pennsylvania border has been shut-down because of the Winter Storm that's moved into the region. Beginning at 8 PM last night... all westbound vehicles on the Thruway will be detoured off the highway at Exit 50... and all eastbound traffic were detoured at Exit 61 in Ripley. In addition... motorists to Pennsylvania and points west are being asked to exit the Thruway at Exit 46 near Rochester to Interstate 390 and then to Interstate 86 westbound into Pennsylvania. The National Weather Service has posted lake-effect snow warnings through Wednesday south and east of Lake Ontario, with total accumulations of more than 3 feet possible. States of emergency were declared in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Erie, Genesee, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Monroe, Oneida, Orleans, Oswego, Wayne and Wyoming counties. Governor Cuomo has also activated the state Emergency Operations Center.
The man who has led the Jamestown City Council the past few years will remain in that capacity in 2014... and, he looks forward to tackling the challenges ahead with a new panel. At-Large Democrat Greg Rabb was re-elected as Council President by the incoming panel during last night's re-organizational meeting. Rabb says he's again excited to be working on the challenges that face the city... the first one being the city's finances and yearly budget. Rabb made his outgoing remarks during the 2013 end-of-year meeting that was suspended until last night's session... which was held prior to the re-organizational meeting. He says the second challenge is re-building the downtown and neighborhoods... and, third is dealing with drug-related crime and domestic violence. Rabb will lead a council that has a slim, 5-to-4 Democrat majority. However... he says he's found most councilmembers in the past willing to set politics aside... and, work for what's best for the city. Rabb says while each member has an "D" or an "R" next to their name... all they think about is the letter "J"... for Jamestown. Two new council members... Republicans Brent Sheldon and Tamara Dickey... were also sworn in for the next two-years.
Last Sunday night's fire that heavily damaged the front part of a North Main Street building housing The Pub and Lisciandro's Restaurant was electrical in nature. Jamestown fire officials say the blaze originated near the front entrance to The Pub. Jamestown firefighters were called to the scene at 209 North Main Street about 7:05 PM. Fire Battalion Chief Roger Sigular says several passers-by called in the alarm. He says first responding units found heavy smoke coming from all three floors of the building. Sigular says crews found the bulk of the fire on the first-floor. However... Sigular says there was heavy smoke and fire damage to the front interior front part of The Pub... where the bar-area is located. He says Lisciandro's Restaurant has some light smoke damage. Sigular says it took about half-an-hour before they had the blaze under control. Sigular says neither business was open at the time of the fire... and, no one was hurt.
