The US professional football league NFL is fleeing a snowstorm that was expected to hit Buffalo starting Thursday night (local time).

Cologne – The US professional football league NFL is fleeing a snowstorm that was expected to hit Buffalo from Thursday night (local time). Sunday night’s game between the Bills and Cleveland Browns will be moved to Detroit. This was confirmed by the league. The last time a Buffalo Bills game was moved to the city 350 km to the west was in 2014, also then because of heavy snowfall.

The decision was made “in the interest of public safety and out of an abundance of caution” and “in consultation with the Buffalo Bills and local and state authorities as the region prepares for the storm,” the NFL said.

Buffalo is more frequently affected by snowstorms due to what is known as the “Lake Snow Effect”. The effect occurs when cold winds move across large lakes in winter that have warmed up in summer. Buffalo is located in New York State on the east side of Lake Erie on the border with Canada.