That area (around Harrisburg) still gets hit by lake effect snow, not as bad as I-90, but it still gets hairy up there especially as you get farther north out of PA into NY
âŠyou got a better route? I-90 keeps you in the âstuffâ from Cleveland all the rest of the way: snow, blowing snow, and (in my own personal experience) near hurricane-force winds behind a strong winter storm.
There is a far more limited length of exposure going I-81: LE snow really isnât an issue here, at least up to the NY state line. TBH, I donât think there exists a means of getting to Watertown in winter that doesnât involve exposure to snowâŠI just mitigated it somewhat with a reroute.
I-90 being longer the the I-81 stretch between Syracuse and Watertown is the only reason it may get more lake effect snow. But most storms go from west to east so I-81 sees many more lake effect storms per mile. I-90 also is taken care of by the throughway authority. They do a much better job of keeping the highway clean.