OBSERVER Photo by Dan Kohler A snowplow skidded off the roadway and tumbled into a ditch along Bowers Road in Stockton Thursday morning. No injuries were reported.

Except for a few short-lived snow piles, winter has been pretty lenient on Chautauqua County residents this season. That is, until Wednesday, when folks driving home in the evening after work or errands had to deal with near-white-out conditions.

“We had a cold front that came through on Wednesday, with several smaller lake bands that moved east across the area,” said meteorologist David Zaff of the National Weather Service. “The bands were pretty narrow, but (Dunkirk) was under one of them, and lots of snow was dropped late and into the overnight hours.”

Then, Zaff said, those multiple narrow bands consolidated into one larger band that came all the way from Cleveland, Ohio, to Buffalo.

“When you get windflow like that, all the bands join together and create impressive snow rates,” he noted.

So, if it’s any consolation, Buffalo got hit harder than those along the lake in Chautauqua County on Thursday. However, karma and snow storms eventually come for us all.

“The large band will head back south toward (Dunkirk and surrounding areas), a little weaker, with lighter accumulation throughout (today) and Saturday — higher (snow) levels as you go into the interior portions of Chautauqua County,” Zaff said.

In Dunkirk and closer to the lake, residents saw only a few inches. In the Cassadaga hills, Lily Dale and Sinclairville areas, though, snowfall measured anywhere from 9 to 12 inches. Shoveling that was a workout.

Chautauqua County Sheriff Joe Gerace called Thursday a “typical winter day,” and his office reported about a dozen calls.

Matt Slaven, with the Dunkirk Fire Department, also reported a quieter-than-expected day.

“We did have one crash at Park and Third (streets),” he said. “Then we had a few EMS calls. Drivers in the city tend to go slower (in bad weather).”

Another incident that tied up first responders was a snowplow in a ditch along Bowers Road in Stockton. According to reports, the Cassadaga and Stockton fire departments responded to a town of Stockton plow that skidded off the roadway at about 10:50 a.m. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

Several districts canceled school Thursday, including Cassadaga, Pine Valley, Forestville, North Collins, Gowanda and Silver Creek. Fredonia schools braved the first part of the day, but canceled after-school activities. Parents should be alert today, too, just in case that giant snow band isn’t done with the county.

“This (storm) will be a long-lived event,” said Zaff. “It will continue through Saturday and into Sunday. We’ll see a break after that period, either Monday or Monday night, but then it will start up again, at least from a lake-effect standpoint.”

As he said, though, what else can we expect?

“It’s winter time. That’s what happens.”