Buffalo slammed into lake-effect snow as storm hit parts of New York state so hard

A blizzard from the impact of a dangerous lake paralyzed parts of western and northern New York on Friday, with some places already having about a meter of snow on the ground by early afternoon. The storm was blamed for the deaths of two of his men who were attacked while clearing snow.

The intensity of the storms varied widely due to the characteristics of lake effect storms caused by cold winds picking up moisture from warm lakes and throwing snow into narrow strips.

Some Buffalo residents were awakened by a violent snowstorm with occasional thunderclaps, but just a few miles to the north, last night’s snowfall was light and there were patches of blue skies.

The worst snowfall ever was south of the city. The National Weather Service reports a total daily snowfall of 61 cm in many locations along the eastern edge of Lake Erie, with more intense rainfall belts pushing heavy rainfall in Orchard Park outside Buffalo and Hamburg, New York. There was more than 102 cm of snowfall, and it was also where the relief took place. Crew members were called in to help residents whose homes buckled under the weight.

Schools, Amtrak stations closed

School was closed. Buffalo, Niagara Falls and DePuy Amtrak stations will be closed on Thursday and will remain closed on Friday.

A number of flights to and from Buffalo Niagara International Airport have been cancelled.

Erie County Administrator Mark Polonkers tweeted that the two deaths were due to the storm and said they were “related to heart attacks associated with exertion while shoveling or clearing snow.”

“My deepest condolences and a reminder that this snow is very heavy and dangerous,” he said.

Even before the snow started to fall, the NFL announced that Sunday’s home game of the Buffalo Bills against the Cleveland Browns would be moved from Orchard Park Stadium to Detroit.

A day later, the Bills tweeted a photo of Highmark Stadium, showing the stadium and its 60,000-plus seats virtually buried in snow, with forecasters adding about a foot more by Sunday. I warned you.

Scott Fleetwood of West Seneca, New York, captured a video of lightning striking outside his house overnight and snow rapidly filling up pumpkins on the porch.

“The sky is white…everything is white. All you really see is the house across the street,” he said.

not a good day for drivers

Zaria Black of Buffalo cleared snow from her car Friday morning as she prepared to go to work.

Amazon employees expected her to be outside most of the day and were uneasy about the road conditions.

“It looks pretty bad now,” she said.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown has urged people to stay off the hard-hit south Buffalo roads as many cars are stranded and abandoned. There, extra urban and civilian plows were deployed to clear the snow-packed neighboring streets.

Meanwhile, roads in downtown and North Buffalo had been cleared, but there was little traffic on Friday afternoon.

State of emergency declared in 11 counties

New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday declared a state of emergency for parts of western New York, including communities along the eastern ends of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

The declaration covers 11 counties and prohibits commercial truck traffic off Interstate 90.

Erie County executive Polonkers issued a driving ban starting Thursday night, but it was downgraded to advisory for most areas of the city of Buffalo on Friday.

The Bureau of Meteorology also warned that parts of upstate New York and upstate Michigan on the eastern edge of Lake Ontario could receive more than 60 centimeters of snow by Sunday. Parts of Pennsylvania also saw snow accumulation due to the lake effect.

Fort Drum, New York, near the shores of Lake Ontario, saw more than a meter of snow, the National Weather Service reported Friday.

In southwestern Michigan, state police reported 20 to 25 vehicles piled up on US 131 in Kalamazoo County. No serious injuries have been reported.

Pile up on Michigan highway

Buffalo has experienced dramatic snowstorms affecting the lake, and few are worse than the one that hit in November 2014. This epic storm brought down two meters of snow on some communities in three days, collapsing roofs and trapping drivers in more than 100 of his vehicles spread across the lake. of Thruway, New York.

Mary Ann Murphy, a registered nurse, remembered walking with her husband, Steve, to Mercy Hospital during the 2014 storm. This memory made her especially happy that she was able to drive to work on Friday.

“I just shot in the street in a small SUV,” said Murphy, who lives about 1.5 kilometers from Buffalo Hospital. “I was just thrilled that I didn’t have to walk.”

Murphy, head of mothers’ child care services, said some of her colleagues would rather spend the night than risk the dangerous commute.They are due to give birth to eight babies on Friday. did.