Bills facing ‘paralyzing snowfall’ forecast ahead of Browns showdown

Will the Bills and Browns be able to plow ahead with their Sunday matchup?

That’s the big question as host Buffalo is set to be covered in up to four feet of snow this week.

“This will be the start of a prolonged lake-effect snow event which will likely include paralyzing snowfall for the Buffalo and Watertown areas late this week through the weekend,” the National Weather Service office in Buffalo wrote in its forecast discussion on Wednesday morning.

There could even be some thundersnow as the Orchard Park area gets a thick blanket of the cold stuff.

The team practiced indoors on Wednesday, though neither team is preparing for the game at Highmark Stadium to be moved or delayed.

“I know our team is in communication with the NFL,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday. “They’ve been through it before, we’ve been through it before. The football team has to get ready to play a game and execute.”

Buffalo is no stranger to winter weather, and McDermott has big expectations for the Bills Mafia.

“This is a resilient town, all the people with snow plows and snowmobiles and all that type of jazz, I’m sure they’ll chip in and lend a hand,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of guys from Florida, down south and out west that have never seen snow before. Our development team does a great job — they equip them with scrapers and deicing mechanisms. We’ve already started to plan … what happens if we can’t get in (practices) Friday, can’t in Saturday … We’re working on that also.”

Kevin Stefanski, McDermott’s Cleveland counterpart, is also preparing for the snow as much as possible.

“When weather is going to be a factor… you’re always thinking about having plays you might turn too should it be a major factor,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “The guys are prepared for if that’s what it ends up being. You can’t spend too much time worrying about that.”