[10] Early on Friday, November 14, the system fully moved ashore in the Pacific Northwest, and began bringing snowfall to the region.

[11] The winter storm quickly moved southeastward and then northeastward, triggering large amounts of lake-effect snow near the Great Lakes beginning on Sunday, November 16.

The event was briefly interrupted by a low-pressure system with general snowfall passing through on Thursday, November 20,[14] before reverting to the same synoptic setup as before.

[15] High pressure and warmer temperatures moved into the area beginning on Friday, November 21, which caused the storm to exit the East Coast, ending the lake-effect snow.

During the next couple of days, the winter storm eventually intensified,[16] reaching a minimum low pressure of 961 mb (28.38 inHg) on November 23.

[18] Several counties were heavily impacted, with areas in and around Buffalo, New York, particularly the city's southern suburbs, receiving snowfall totals in the range of 5–7 feet (1.5–2.1 m), killing at least 26 people; most of the deaths were caused by heart attacks from overexertion trying to remove the snow.

[21][22] As the New York State Thruway became impassable, and Amtrak suspended service from Albany to westward destinations like Buffalo, Toronto and Cleveland,[23] many motorists became trapped, including Niagara University's women's basketball team.

By November 22, parts of Interstate 90 had been reopened, albeit mainly to allow snow removal crews to enter; driving bans remained in effect for multiple areas, however, resulting in gasoline shortages at various stations unable to be refueled.