A historic blizzard hit western New York state Saturday with more than 6 feet of snow in some places, closing roads, prompting driving bans and canceling flights the weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Extreme snowfall “will create near-zero visibility, very difficult to impossible travel, damage to infrastructure and may paralyze the hardest-hit communities,” the Weather Prediction Center said Saturday morning.
Snowfall totals of more than 6 feet have been recorded in two locations, according to the National Weather Service. Orchard Park, home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, has accumulated 77.0 inches in the past 48 hours, and Natural Bridge, just east of Watertown, has accumulated 72.3 inches – historic numbers for the area.
As the snowfall intensified, two county residents died of heart complications related to shoveling and trying to clear the ground, said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
“We send our deepest condolences and remind everyone that this snow is very heavy and dangerous,” Poloncarz said. “Continue to avoid shoveling this very heavy, wet snow – and be careful and avoid overexertion if you must shovel today.”
Winter weather advisories remained in effect for more than 6 million people in six Great Lakes states Saturday morning – Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
Forecasters and officials are sounding the alarm about the life-threatening nature of this blizzard, which is historic even for the Buffalo area, where heavy snowfall is the norm during the winter months. And the heavy snowfall is expected to continue into the weekend with short periods of relief.
See snow building as New York faces historic blizzard
Areas northeast of Lake Ontario – from central Jefferson County to northern Lewis County – were inundated with heavy snow late Friday, when snowfall rates reached 3 inches per hour, according to the weather service in Buffalo. Parts between Watertown and Harrisville also saw treacherous conditions.
The state of emergency remains in effect, and Dan Neaverth Jr., Homeland Security Commissioner for Erie County, said he did not expect the travel restrictions to lift soon.
“It’s Saturday. There’s absolutely no reason to be out there today,” he advised.
Dozens of flights arriving and departing Buffalo Niagara International Airport were canceled as storm conditions worsened, according to the airport’s website.
This month is already Buffalo’s third snowiest November at the airport thanks to the storm, according to the local weather service.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told CNN on Saturday that while his city is used to heavy snow, this is “a lot more than we usually get.”
He said the city could return to “some sense of normalcy” by Monday or Tuesday, assuming the worst of the storm passes by Sunday.
“It was a very unpredictable storm with snow bands moving back and forth from north to south,” Brown said. “The snow fell too fast, too wet, too heavy.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday that she is from Hamburg, just south of Buffalo.
“But even with that history, in that context, this is a record book,” he told CNN. “The largest amount of snow to fall in 24 hours probably in the history of the state. Soon we will have the real numbers.”
The colossal storm has been pounding the region for days, prompting local and state officials to declare states of emergency to bolster the response. But with a storm this big, it only takes one or two vehicles to slow cleanup operations, Poloncarz noted.
“A reminder to all employers: if your business is in a no-driving zone or your employees are currently in a no-driving zone, it is illegal to force them to come to work,” Poloncarz said online.
The blizzard, which came with a forecast for the Buffalo area not seen in more than 20 years, has made travel miserable for many drivers, despite authorities’ emphasis on staying off the roads.
“I can say that our deputies have been overwhelmed with calls for service as it relates to disabled vehicles and stranded motorists,” said Erie County Undersheriff William J. Cooley during a press conference Friday night. “We’re asking residents to just, please, obey the travel ban, you become part of the problem very quickly when you’re out there on the streets.”
Erie County issued a mix of travel bans and travel advisories Friday, including a travel ban for the southern part of Buffalo.
More than 300 citations were issued to drivers who violated the travel ban, Poloncarz said late Friday.
“Please don’t be the reason an ambulance can’t get to the hospital,” she said. “There are a lot of vehicles that not only get stuck, but are simply abandoned by their owners.”
Snow has been falling for a long time at a rapid rate, making it difficult for crews to respond.
“In some cases, we’re going to get well over 5 feet of snow, and that’s in a 21-hour period,” said Bill Geary, the county’s public works commissioner. “It’s a remarkable time.”
