A massive snowstorm buried some parts of western New York state on Saturday six feet deep, prompting road closures and flight cancellations.
The National Weather Service predicted the Buffalo area would experience another round of significant lake-effect snowfall on Saturday night. It snowed heavily Saturday afternoon north of the Buffalo metropolitan area, over Lake Ontario, according to CNN.
Despite the band's rapid movement, the National Weather Service warned that "additional amounts of around a half foot or so could occur across the Buffalo metro area."
Lake effect snow will continue downwind of Lakes Erie and Ontario tonight and Sunday before finally winding down Monday. Fortunately the steering winds across the lakes will result in the heaviest snow bands being over different areas than those hardest hit during the last 2 days pic.twitter.com/BIgNNdTH9x
— NWS Eastern Region (@NWSEastern) November 19, 2022
New York Governor Kathy Hochul praised the state's storm preparedness and said crews are working hard. The official noted that the group effort was made possible with help from all over New York's many different departments and agencies. Gov. Hochul said: "And because we were so preemptive in this strike, we were able to avert many tragedies."
According to the National Weather Service, two locations have already recorded more than 6 feet of snow. Both Orchard Park and Natural Bridge, just east of Watertown, have received record-breaking amounts of precipitation in the past 48 hours.
An Extraordinary and Dangerous Snowstorm
Mark Poloncarz, the executive of Erie County, New York, tweeted that two people had died in the Buffalo area "associated with cardiac events related to exertion during shoveling/snow blowing."
The Starke County Sheriff's Office reported Friday that a snowplow driver was killed when his vehicle left the road and rolled over in the town of Hamlet, Indiana. Lake Michigan is 48 km. from Hamlet.
Poloncarz expressed his condolences and advised the public to stay safe from the dangerous snowstorm. He said those who need to shovel in the heavy snow must exercise caution and avoid overexertion, per a report from PBS.
Because of the unusual characteristics of lake-effect storms, which develop when cold winds draw moisture from warmer lakes and deposit it as snow in narrow bands, the storm's effects vary widely across the region. A few inches of snow fell in some parts of Buffalo, while residents a few miles away were pummeled by heavy winds carrying Lake Erie snow.
Over eight million people in six Great Lakes states (Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York) are still under a winter weather alert as of Saturday night. Even for the Buffalo region, where heavy snow is the norm in the winter months, this snowstorm is historical, and forecasters and officials have sounded the alarm on the potentially deadly nature of the storm.
Sports Fans Withstand Dangerous Snowstorm
Even with brief breaks, heavy snowfall is forecast to continue through the weekend. The city of Orchard Park, New York, saw an incredible 77 inches by Saturday morning. The roof of a bowling alley in Hamburg, about 10 miles south of Buffalo, collapsed due to the weight of the snow, and the city recorded a total of over 60 inches.
Update: it's still snowing. 😱#GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/pxyxWzm2tv
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 19, 2022
Due to the snowstorm, the Buffalo Bills had to play their Sunday home game against the Cleveland Browns in Detroit.
Devoted supporters coordinated their plans to Michigan, which is 200 miles away, by sharing the best driving routes on social media. There were reports of neighbors helping players dig out of their homes so they could travel to the airport, The Washington Post reported.
