ALBANY - Heavy snowfall north of Syracuse forced the closure of Interstate 81 for hours in both directions Sunday evening, state police said.

Trooper Danielle Kendall says the biggest problem was along the Oswego County and Jefferson County line, about 50 miles north of Syracuse.

Police couldn't say how many accidents had resulted from the storm, but the interstate was closed by 2 p.m., Kendall said.

“All I can tell you is it's snowy ... We've had several tractor trailers off the road,” she said.

Joe Pace, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Buffalo, says two feet had fallen in parts of northern Cayuga County. In Mexico and northern Oswego County about 18 inches fell, Pace said.

A lake effect snow band was running over the southern two-thirds of Oswego County and into Southern Lewis County early Sunday evening, where as much as two inches an hour were falling. State police re-opened the interstate around 11 p.m., but authorities urged people to stay off the roads if possible, especially in Oswego County.

The snow continuned to batter the region overnight, and more was expected to fall today.

A trooper at the state police station in Pulaski says visibility is poor because of blowing snow. Officials in Fulton are advising motorists to stay off the streets, and there are reports that the roof on the city's public works garage collapsed. No injuries are reported.

In the western Adirondack areas - Herkimer County and parts of Hamilton County - had sporadic reports of snowfall, with the most being five inches Sunday evening, meteorologists said.