The OBSERVER is offering its e-edition free on Friday as the heavy snow forecast for the Buffalo area is making U.S. Postal Service delivery of Friday’s edition via mail uncertain.

To view the e-edition, visit observertoday.com and click on “Today’s Paper” at the top of the website.

Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Thursday for parts of Western New York, including Chautauqua County, ahead of a forecast storm that had the potential to dump several feet of snow on some communities on the eastern ends of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The worst snowfall was expected in Buffalo, where the National Weather Service said up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) might fall in some spots through Sunday, with periods of near-zero visibility. Other areas could get a foot (0.3 meters) or less of the lake-effect snow, which is caused by frigid air picking up copious amounts of moisture from the warmer lakes.

Hochul’s state of emergency covers 11 counties, with commercial truck traffic banned from a stretch of Interstate 90 after 4 p.m. Thursday. The snowfall was expected to be most intense between 7 p.m. Thursday and 7 p.m. Friday.