batavia ny travel ban

Wind advisory for the entire region through early Saturday afternoon. Gusts between 40-50 mph possible.

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Genesee County Sheriff's Office issues travel advisory

Batavia, N.Y. — The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office issued a travel advisory on Saturday due to the winter weather advisory in effect.

Motorists are asked to avoid all unnecessary travel due to expected high winds, heavy snow, and low visibility.

The advisory is in effect through Sunday.

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Travel Advisory: Roads are not closed. No unnecessary travel is advised. Travel advisories are generally issued based upon such factors as poor visibility, slippery roads, numerous accidents, blowing and/or drifting snow are on the roadways. Example: A trip which could wait until the advisory is lifted should not be made; a trip to the store for non-essential items; a trip to rent a movie, etc. The Genesee County Sheriff's Office does not determine the necessity for any individual to report to work.

Road Closings: Road closings are issued when road(s) are impassable. Often times these road(s) are barricaded, or law enforcement is physically present blocking the roadway. Individual roads may be closed due to a number of factors (ie. an accident, blowing/drifting snow, poor visibility, etc.). You may be cited for a violation of law if you travel on a closed road.

Travel Ban: Means the roads are officially closed. Only emergency travel is allowed (police, ambulance, fire, doctors, nurses, etc.). Non-emergency travelers may be cited for a violation of law when traveling during a travel ban. Note: Countywide travel bans in Genesee County are rare.

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Geneseo, NY (14454)

Cloudy and windy with periods of rain this morning. Snow or sleet may mix in. High 51F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low around 40F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

Updated: April 13, 2024 @ 3:15 am

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UPDATE: Travel banned in city of Batavia due to state of emergency

• Dec 24, 2022
• Dec 24, 2022 Updated Dec 24, 2022

BATAVIA — Travel and parking bans are in effect in the city of Batavia.

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Travel bans eased in some spots, but more lake-effect snow still expected

The National Weather Service is still predicting another day of heavy snow across the region with totals expected close to two feet in some spots.

• A series of Lake Effect Snow Warnings remain in place
• A State of Emergency in Erie County continues indefinitely
• A Travel Ban is in effect for most of Erie County— but has been downgraded to just an advisory in several locations.

Two intense plumes of lake effect snow with snowfall rates of at least 3 inches per hour will continue northeast of the lakes into Friday night, the National Weather Service says.

"It'll probably just remain over the Southtowns of Buffalo into ... the city of Buffalo out throughout the day, today and tonight, " said Liz Jurkowski, a meteorologist in the Buffalo forecast office of the National Weather Service

The weather service has measured about 11.5 inches at the airport as of 5 a.m. Friday, Jurkowski says. Depew reported 13 inches, with 18 in the Boston Hills.

Visibility remains an issue, especially where the lake-effect snow bands form.

"As that band heads north into Niagara County, things should start to lighten up a bit, you should be able to be able to get outside and start clearing out some of that snow," Jurkowski. "And then as that band shifts out Saturday night ... you'll wake up just a couple more inches Sunday morning."

Lake Effect in Buffalo NY 11/18/2022 @TheBuffaloNews @NWSBUFFALO @news4buffalo pic.twitter.com/mPHOPFo1bZ — WAlves (@w_wdglma) November 18, 2022

Travel is still not advised nor easy, but an outright ban in Erie County has been changed to an advisory only for Amherst, Buffalo, Brant, Colden, Collins, Concord, Grand Island, Newstead, North Collins, Sardinia, and the Town and City of Tonawanda.

As of 11:30 a.m. Friday, the NFTA says bus service will return to areas in Erie County outside of the travel ban beginning at noon. The NFTA-Metro is still operating and bus service continues in Niagara County. Paratransit has been suspended but the NFTA is asking riders to reschedule if possible.

As of 11 a.m. Friday, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has issued travel ban for the City of Buffalo south of William Street.

"We do want to express our sincere appreciation to the residents of Erie County who for the most part heeded the warning that we have out there to stay off the roads they they took our advice and the travel ban and we really think that that is a major reason why and I'll things are getting up to speed," said Erie County Emergency Services Commissioner Dan Neaverth Jr., in announcing the travel ban change, early Friday morning

Neaverth cautioned, however, that while some areas might not have seen as much snowfall as others, no one should be lulled into a false sense of security.

"So this thing is still moving ... even though you might not have snow in your area you could. There is still a winter storm watch for southern area in Chautauqua County," he said

THE LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNINGS   Southern Erie County -Including the cities of Orchard Park and Springville WARNING IN PLACE UNTIL 1 AM SATURDAY Heavy lake effect snow Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 feet in the most persistent lake snows. Highest totals likely in Hamburg and Orchard Park. Winds gusting as high as 35 mph will produce patchy blowing snow. Travel will be difficult to impossible

Northern Erie County and Genesee County - including Buffalo and Batavia WARNING IN PLACE UNTIL 1 P.M. SUNDAY Heavy lake effect snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 4 feet in the most persistent lake snows. The heaviest snow is expected late Thursday evening through Friday night when snowfall rates could exceed 3 inches per hour. Snowfall totals of up to 4 feet will be possible if the main snow band remains stationary for longer period of time. Winds gusting as high as 35 mph with produce patchy blowing snow. Travel will be very difficult to impossible. Heavy snow could also bring down some tree limbs and cause scattered power outages.

  Niagara County - including Niagara Falls WARNING BEGINS AT 7 P.M. FRIDAY UNTIL 7 A.M. SUNDAY Heavy lake effect snow likely. Total snow accumulations of 8 to 16 inches in the most persistent snow areas. Wind gusts as as high as 35 MPH will produce patchy blowing snow. Travel could be difficult to impossible. Tree limbs and wires may fall, causing power outages.

In advance of the storm, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday urged residents in Western New York to stay home

“We’re expecting upwards of two to four feet. It’s not just the volume, two to four feet the first night, we could possibly see anywhere from four to six feet between now and Sunday. It is the rate of snow that is most concerning,” Hochul said.

Initial snow projections stated snow would fall at a rate of up to two inches per hour but the National Weather Service now says the rate is now expected to be two to four inches per hour which the governor called “extraordinary.”

“That level of snow coming down with that intensity is what creates the dangerousness and the lack of ability to see on the roads,” Hochul said.

The warnings created a flurry of activity at area grocery stores, with a run on some basic items like milk, bread and cold cuts.

A Tops Market in Depew had no bread — only hamburger or hotdog rolls available — by 6:30 p.m. Thursday evening. A similar rush was reported at a Target store in North Buffalo and elsewhere.

Hochul said the state and local officials have taken steps in preparation for the snow storm including activating the National Guard, pre-salting the streets and the closure of schools.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said Buffalo Public Schools will be closed Friday garbage and recycling collection for Friday has been postponed in preparation for the storm.

“I want to ask people in the city of Buffalo and throughout our region to stay off the roads between Thursday at seven and Friday at seven. If you have to get items if you have to stock up if you have to do things. The time to do that is right now before the snow starts to fly,” Brown said.

“If you must go out, you have to leave plenty of time and go very, very slowly," said New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray. "Visibility will likely be next to zero. The National Weather Service has deemed the event an extreme winter storm on its severity index for Jefferson County, Genesee County and Erie County."

The Wyoming County Sheriff's Office issued a travel advisory for the entire county Friday morning.

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Genesee County Issues Travel Ban

Written by dan fischer on december 23, 2022.

Currently, the western half of Genesee County is experiencing blizzard conditions with blowing and drifting snow causing zero visibility. Weather forecasts indicate similar conditions are expected for all of Genesee County later today and through Saturday.  Numerous accidents and stranded vehicles are blocking roadways and causing unsafe driving conditions for motorists and first responders.

Sheriff Sheron encourages residents, “For your safety and the safety of first responders and highway snow removal personnel this holiday weekend, please stay off the roads until conditions improve.”

Dan Fischer

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Genesee County downgrades travel ban to travel advisory

by: Gio Battaglia

Posted: Dec 23, 2022 / 02:04 PM EST

Updated: Dec 25, 2022 / 09:04 AM EST

UPDATE (12/25):

Genesee County officials have announced that the state of emergency put in place has been lifted. The travel ban for certain areas of Genesee County has been downgraded to a travel advisory.

As a reminder, Genesee County officials say a travel advisory “means that no unnecessary travel is advised, and a trip which could wait until the advisory is lifted should not be made.”

UPDATE (12/24):

Certain areas of Genesee County are placed on either a travel ban or travel advisory, according to the Genesee County officials.

A travel ban remains in effect for:

The areas that have been downgraded to a travel advisory are:

As a reminder, a travel ban means no travel for anyone except emergency vehicles which includes police, ambulance, snow plows, fire, etc. A travel advisory means that no unnecessary travel is advised.

They also say that emergency service providers are still in the process of attempting to clear vehicles that became stranded overnight.

ORIGINAL STORY:

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A state of emergency was declared on Thursday in Genesee County due to “blizzard-like conditions”, according to the Genesee County Manager.

The Genesee County Sheriff says they are upgrading their previously issued travel advisory to a travel ban for all of Genesee County until further notice. They say this means travel is only allowed for emergency vehicles such as police, fire, ambulance, and snowplows.

“For your safety and the safety of first responders and highway snow removal personnel this holiday weekend, please stay off the roads until conditions improve,” Genesee Sheriff Sheron said.

The state of emergency and travel ban follows current blizzard conditions in which the blowing and drifting of snow is causing zero visibility. Genesee County officials say that there are currently multiple accidents and stranded vehicles blocking roadways and causing unsafe driving conditions.

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Winter Travel Advisory Information

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Batavia, NY (14020)

Periods of rain and snow this morning. Windy and remaining cloudy this afternoon. High 49F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Mostly clear skies early. Increasing clouds with showers late. Low around 40F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Updated: April 13, 2024 @ 3:15 am

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Mark Gutman/Daily NewsThe cars at the intersection of Rt. 5 and Rt. 63 near Old County Courthouse on Wednesday afternoon.

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Mark Gutman/Daily NewsPeople coming and going at the Post office on Main St. in Batavia on Wednesday afternoon.

Update 2:50 p.m.: Travel ban issued for Genesee County; Blizzard warning remains in effect for Genesee and Wyoming counties

• Jan 30, 2019
• Jan 30, 2019 Updated Apr 24, 2020

BATAVIA — Effective immediately, a travel ban for Genesee County has been issued and will stay in effect until further notice.

Blowing and drifting snow have created poor visibility and unsafe/hazardous traveling conditions for motorists.

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UPDATE: All travel bans lifted across Erie County

Cheektowaga, N.Y. (WBEN) - The last remaining travel ban in Erie Couny was lifted when the City of Lackawanna reopened to traffic in full at 1 p.m. following a nightmarish weekend of lake effect snow and blizzad-lie conditions.

Additionally, all major roadways that were closed due to the weather conditions have been reopened, including the NYS Thruway, Route 400, Route 219 and the Skyway/Lakeshore complex

News 4 Buffalo

Travel bans lifted Thursday, travel advisory in effect

by: Emily Miller

Posted: Jan 17, 2024 / 07:00 AM EST

Updated: Jan 18, 2024 / 02:31 PM EST

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Multiple municipalities lifted their travel bans and downgraded to travel advisories Thursday morning. The travel bans went into effect Wednesday as heavy lake-effect snow impacted Western New York.

The travel ban issued for Hamburg was lifted at 5:30 a.m. and the ban for Lackawanna was lifted as of 7 a.m. Thursday.

The travel bans for the City of Buffalo and Orchard Park were lifted at 8 a.m. Thursday.

A travel advisory is in effect for all of Erie County until further notice. A travel advisory was also in effect for the City of Lockport until 6 a.m. Thursday.

The travel ban in North Tonawanda was lifted at 8 p.m. Wednesday and the ban in the City of Tonawanda was lifted around 9:15 p.m.

Cheektowaga Town Supervisor Brian Nowak said that he hopes that Cheektowaga and Lancaster will be able to lift bans at 6 a.m. Thursday, weather permitting.

“There is somewhere between 100 to 200 private contractor pieces of equipment here in the district and they really have been doing a good job,” Buffalo Common Council president Chris Scanlon said. “Just a matter of being patient and we’ll have everyone dug out as soon as we possibly can.”

A Lake Effect Snow Warning is in effect for Erie, Genesee, and Wyoming counties until 7 p.m. Thursday. A Winter Weather Advisory will go into effect at 10 a.m. Wednesday for Niagara County. Snowfall rates are predicted to fall at up to 3 inches in some parts of WNY.

The Sabres postponed Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks due to weather conditions.

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Attention, New York Adulterers: Your Sin May Soon No Longer Be a Crime

Adultery has been illegal in New York since 1907, but state lawmakers seem poised to repeal the antiquated law.

By Erin Nolan

Reporting from the State Capitol in Albany, N.Y.

In the halls of the New York State Capitol, with a budget deadline bearing down, it seems that all that anyone wants to talk about is adultery.

An antiquated but seldom-enforced state law categorizes adultery as a crime, and past efforts to repeal it have gone nowhere. But that seems poised to change.

The Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favor of a bill to repeal the adultery law last month, and a Senate committee last week moved a matching bill to the floor for a full vote that could come as soon as this week.

The developments have attracted global attention, with the Assembly bill’s sponsor, Charles Lavine, a Democrat from Long Island, fielding interview requests from Europe to South America .

“Any criminal law that penalizes intimate behavior between consenting adults does not deserve to be on the books,” said Mr. Lavine, who added that he has been “happily married” for 54 years.

While adultery is still illegal in a handful of states (in Oklahoma, Michigan and Wisconsin, adultery is considered a felony offense), the vast majority of states repealed their adultery laws long ago or never outlawed it in the first place.

New York’s law declares a person guilty of adultery “when he engages in sexual intercourse with another person at a time when he has a living spouse, or the other person has a living spouse,” according to New York’s penal code . Adultery is classified as a Class B misdemeanor, and it is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.

The push to decriminalize adultery is about more than updating the penal code to reflect modern values, Mr. Lavine said. He viewed recent events, including an Alabama judge’s ruling that frozen embryos in test tubes are children and the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision rejecting the constitutional right to an abortion , as evidence of a growing political desire to foist governmental oversight on sex and chip away at Americans’ assumed right to privacy.

“We are all in danger of losing our rights,” Mr. Lavine said. “Those most likely to be prosecuted for this crime, not only in New York, but throughout the United States and even worldwide, are women. I think it’s time for our state legislatures throughout the United States to stand up for human rights. And women’s rights are human rights.”

This isn’t the first time New York has been slow to update laws regulating marriage and sex. In 2010, New York was the last state to adopt no-fault divorce — allowing couples to dissolve marriages without requiring proof of adultery, cruelty, imprisonment or abandonment — nearly 40 years after California was the first to do so . And it wasn’t until 2021 that state lawmakers officially disavowed child marriage and raised the legal age of consent to marry to 18 .

When New York first outlawed adultery in 1907, it was common for states to pass laws criminalizing sex outside of marriage, according to Jill Hasday, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School who has studied how the law regulates deception within romantic, sexual and family relationships. These laws technically applied to everyone, Professor Hasday said, but they were often used to target women and L.G.B.T.Q. people.

Just a few weeks after the law went into effect, a married railroad contractor and a 25-year-old woman he was seeing were the first people arrested and charged with adultery, according to a 1907 New York Times article .

New York lawmakers have tried to overturn the adultery ban since at least 1964 , when a legislative commission found enforcement of the state’s adultery ban to be virtually impossible and “a matter of private morality, not of law.”

But the law has remained in place, and at least 13 people have been charged with adultery in New York since 1972, according to Mr. Lavine.

The most recent case arose in 2010, when a 43-year-old married woman was arrested after engaging in a sex act with a man who was not her husband at a public park in Batavia, N.Y. Both of them were charged with public lewdness, but only the woman, Suzanne Corona, was charged with adultery, said Brian Degnan, the lawyer who represented Ms. Corona.

A media frenzy descended onto Ms. Corona, Mr. Degnan said, and her mug shot was published in news outlets around the world.

“She couldn't go anywhere in town without people whispering,” Mr. Degnan said. “She was living her life under a microscope when she just wanted to be left alone.”

Though adultery charges have always been rare, the law was occasionally used as justification in divorce proceedings in the years before New York adopted no-fault divorce, Mr. Degnan said.

“It’s embarrassing that this is still on the books,” Mr. Degnan said. “Even in law school, everyone burst out laughing every time it came up.”

But when the law is enforced, it can be used to target and embarrass women, as illustrated by Ms. Corona’s experience.

“Whose right to privacy was infringed on?” Mr. Degnan said. “Whose marriage was put on display in the media?”

Professor Hasday suggested that women accused of infidelity tend to face harsher social consequences than men.

“What do you call a husband whose wife has had sex with someone else? You call him a cuckold,” the professor said. “What do you call a wife whose husband has had sex with someone else? You call her a wife. We still have this idea that adultery is particularly this wrong against a man.”

Society has adopted far more liberal views on sex and marriage since the early 20th century when New York’s adultery ban was adopted, the professor added, but the pendulum has begun to swing in the other direction. For example, she said, some states revived old abortion bans after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, the decision that established a constitutional right to an abortion.

The Supreme Court has never taken a case related to a state’s anti-adultery law, but many people have argued such laws are unconstitutional based on the court’s 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas. That decision struck down a law criminalizing sodomy and ruled that Americans had a constitutional right to privacy.

But in 2022, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court should reconsider other cases related to marriage and sex, including Lawrence v. Texas.

“We’re in a moment when many legislators’ attention has been primed to look at the regulation of sexuality and reproduction,” Professor Hasday said. “States seem to be veering into very diverse directions.”

Mr. Lavine said any criticism he’s received for his role in sponsoring the Assembly bill to repeal the adultery law has been limited to a few “religious nuts.”

“This is not the first time that I will have been called a heretic,” he said, laughing.

He added, “You can’t punish one person’s personal view of what is moral, and that’s all this law does.”

Erin Nolan is a reporter covering New York City and the metropolitan region. She is a member of the 2023-24 Times Fellowship class. Email her at [email protected] . More about Erin Nolan

Politics in the New York Region

Delays in the Budget: New York lawmakers are moving closer to a deal on a state budget, but a slew of obstacles remain , including housing, crime and climate.

A Housing Deal: The deal could clear the way for the construction of new homes and make it more difficult for landlords to evict renters , if lawmakers in Albany can find a compromise.

A Jail Project: The demolition of a Manhattan jail complex in Chinatown to make way for a bigger one has damaged a neighboring building  and raised concerns about years of dust and disruption.

Adultery as Crime: An antiquated but seldom-enforced state law categorizes adultery as a crime, and past efforts to repeal it have gone nowhere . But that seems poised to change.

Limiting Social Media’s Hold: New York’s governor and attorney general joined forces to pass a law  trying to restrict social media companies’ ability to use algorithms to shape content for children. Big Tech is putting up a battle with a high-stakes lobbying effort.

Targeting Trans Athletes: A proposed ban on transgender women playing on women’s sports teams  has turned a Long Island county into the latest battleground for conservatives who have put cultural issues at the center of a nationwide political strategy.

Travel ban issued for Genesee County

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The Sheriff's Office has just announced a travel ban for Genesee County.

More details when they become available.

Official announcement:

Effective immediately, the previously issued travel advisory is being upgraded to a travel ban for all of Genesee County until further notice. A travel ban means no travel for anyone but emergency vehicles which includes police, ambulance, snow plows, etc. Blowing and drifting snow are creating impassable roads. In addition, accidents and stranded vehicles are blocking roadways and creating unsafe traveling conditions for motorists.

Sheriff Maha stated, “For the safety of the residents of Genesee County, please stay home or where you are until conditions improve.”

UPDATE: We spoke with Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble, who reiterated that the purpose of the travel ban is to get all non-essential traffic off the road. That means, of course, stay home, but it also means stay where you are. If you're at work, stay at work. The travel ban will remain in place until the weather emergency is over. The storm is supposed to lift in the morning. Dibble compared this blizzard to 1977, which came on without warning and there was no end in sight. For the blizzard of '14, we had advance warning and we seem to have a definitive end time. "We've seen it coming for days. There's no reason for people not to be prepared," Dibble said. Driving in violation of the travel ban could lead to a citation, not to mention an accident or getting stranded.

travel ban isn't stopping

travel ban isn't stopping cars and 18 wheelers from speeding down rt 5 as if it was July. closing the 90 only made traffic here worse.

3rd robo call with the same

3rd robo call with the same information in 2 hours.

OK....I get it! I wasn't going anywhere anyway.

It's a good tool, but they're like a kid with a new toy. #enoughalready

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