BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – A dangerous lake-effect snowstorm paralyzed parts of western and northern New York on Friday, dropping more than 4 feet in some places, with more expected to fall overnight into Saturday.  The storm was blamed for the deaths of two people who were injured while clearing snow.
The intensity of the storm varied widely due to the characteristics of lake-effect storms, which are caused by cold winds that pick up moisture from warmer lakes and dump snow in narrow bands.
Residents in parts of Buffalo spent Friday in blowing, heavy snow with occasional thunder, while just a few miles north, only a few inches fell and there were patches of blue skies.
The heaviest snowfall occurred in the south of the city.  The National Weather Service reported daily totals of 3 feet (1 meter) in many places along the eastern edge of Lake Erie, with bands of heaviest rainfall bringing 66 inches (168 cm) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, 48 inches (122 cm) in Elma and more than 3 feet in Hamburg, where emergency crews were called to help a resident whose house buckled under the weight.
Schools closed.  Amtrak stations in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Depew were closed Thursday and Friday.  Many flights to and from Buffalo Niagara International Airport have been canceled.
The storm was blamed for two deaths, Erie County Sheriff Mark Polonkarz said on Twitter, “related to heart attacks related to exertion during shoveling/snowmaking.”
“We send our deepest condolences and remind everyone that this snow is very heavy and dangerous,” he said.
By Friday afternoon, AAA tow truck drivers were struggling to reach dozens of drivers who defied travel bans and advisories, union spokeswoman Elizebeth Carey said.
“AAA crews were trying to reach people who had called to say they were broken down or stranded or had gone off the road with their vehicle.  … Many of our tow truck drivers kept calling us saying ‘the police pulled me over,’ he said.  In some cases, trailers followed behind loaders deployed to clear the road.  AAA passed the locations of other drivers on to the police.
Even before the snow began to fall, the NFL announced it would move Sunday’s Buffalo Bills home game against the Cleveland Browns from the team’s home field at Orchard Park in Detroit.
A day later, the Bills tweeted photos of Highmark Stadium that showed the field and its more than 60,000 seats virtually buried in snow, and forecasters warned of an extra foot or more by Sunday.
Scott Fleetwood of West Seneca captured video of lightning striking outside his home throughout the night, as well as snow quickly burying the pumpkins on his porch.
“The sky is white.  … Everything is white.  The only thing you can really see is the house across the street,” he said.
“My tiki bar is now an igloo,” he added.
“Right now, it looks really bad,” he said.
With many cars stranded and abandoned, Mayor Byron Brown urged people to stay off the roads in hard-hit south Buffalo, where additional city and private plows had been deployed.
“When the snow is falling between 3 and 4.5 inches an hour, you can’t beat it,” he warned drivers at a news conference.  “You’re going to get stuck.”
Meanwhile, streets in downtown and north Buffalo had been cleared but were virtually empty of traffic Friday afternoon.  Buffalo resident David Munschauer was all too familiar with the wildly contrasting scenes as he walked by.
“I’m 68 years old and I’ve lived in this town probably 60 out of 68, and it always amazes me,” he said.
Gov. Kathy Hotchul on Thursday declared a state of emergency for parts of western New York, including communities along the eastern edges of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.  The declaration covers 11 counties, with all vehicles banned from a section of Interstate 90.
“I am so proud of Western New Yorkers for heeding our call to stay off the streets last night.  it was sneaky,” Hochul told radio station WBEN.  “And as a result, we were able to salt, we were able to clear the roads better than we would if they were full of traffic, and we really avoided a large number of accidents.”
Catholic Health, which operates several health care facilities in the storm zone, has been preparing for days.
“Our staff has really grown and people have gone out of their way to get in wherever they can.  Some associates spend the night,” spokeswoman JoAnn Cavanaugh said.  “We’ve made sure our supplies are stocked – food and things for our patients as well as our partners.”
Heavy snow accumulations were also reported in northern New York at the eastern end of Lake Ontario and parts of northern Michigan.  Lake-effect snow accumulations were also seen in parts of Pennsylvania.
Fort Drum, New York, near Lake Ontario, saw 42 inches, the National Weather Service reported Friday.
In southwest Michigan, state police reported a 20- to 25-vehicle pileup on US 131 in Kalamazoo County.  No serious injuries were reported.
“Roads still icy, muddy, need to slow down,” police said on Twitter.
Buffalo has experience with dramatic lake-effect snowstorms, few worse than the one that hit in November 2014. This epic storm dumped 2 feet of snow on some communities over three days, collapsed roofs and trapped drivers in more than 100 vehicles on a lakeside section of the New York State Thruway.
Registered nurse Mary Ann Murphy recalled walking to Mercy Hospital, with husband Steve by her side, in the blizzard of 2014. The memory made them both especially glad she was able to go to work on Friday, despite the snow around 2 meters.
“I just shot it down the road in my little SUV,” said Murphy, who lives about a mile from the Buffalo hospital.  “I was just excited that I didn’t have to walk.”
Friday’s snow also reminded Bruce Leader of the 2014 storm, dubbed “Snow-vember,” which, like this week’s storm, also left some parts of the region buried while others saw just a few inches.
“I was driving back and forth to work in Niagara County, scratching my head, like, ‘What’s all the fuss about?’  he said of the 2014 event. “And down there, my friends are sending me pictures of ‘This is the mess.’  And they did the same thing this morning.”
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Associated Press reporters Alina Hartounian in Phoenix, John Wawrow in Buffalo and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.