The same powerful storm that brought blizzard conditions and severe cold to a large portion of the central United States has generated a major lake-effect snow event into the Christmas weekend. According to Accuweather, Conditions have turned deadly, with three fatalities reported in the greater Buffalo area as of Saturday.
On Saturday morning, two fatalities from the storm were announced by Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, with both occurring in Cheektowaga, about 7 miles east of downtown Buffalo. The deaths were categorized as “emergency medical events that responders could not get to.”
A third death was reported Saturday afternoon, as a body was found in the city, according to a Buffalo police spokesperson. Poloncarz added that Erie County, New York, where Buffalo is located, is “preparing to encounter more fatalities” as search and rescue missions continue throughout the day.
Members of the National Guard were out in Erie County Saturday morning working to get people out of stranded cars, targeting the hardest-hit areas including Buffalo and the surrounding northtowns.
During Friday and overnight Saturday, local first responders and emergency equipment were unable to reach hard-hit spots, including Buffalo, unable to “even go a few blocks” according to Poloncarz. “Getting first responders back online is our top priority,” he said.
“In Buffalo, this storm will likely at least jump near the top of the list of worst blizzards in the city’s history, if not even becoming the worst,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda said. “Four to 6 feet of snow will fall by Sunday and coupled with wind gusts approaching hurricane force [74 mph or greater] to create enormous drifts and impossible travel.”
A blizzard is defined by the National Weather Service as sustained or wind gusts to 35 mph or greater with visibility of one-quarter of a mile or less in snow or blowing snow for at least three consecutive hours.
The storm began as a rain event for Buffalo, with the city receiving 1.98 inches on Friday, breaking the prior daily record of 1.73 inches that had stood since 1878. As Arctic air rushed in, however, rain changed to heavy snow Friday morning. The Buffalo airport recorded zero-mile visibility for nearly 16 hours from midday Friday to the early morning hours of Christmas Eve.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has mobilized the National Guard to Erie County as a massive winter storm batters the Buffalo region. “New Yorkers are experiencing a life-threatening and dangerous winter storm, with freezing temperatures and coastal flooding statewide, and snow and ice particularly in Western and Northern New York,” Hochul said in a Friday statement.
The guard members will assist residents, particularly those who need assistance traveling for emergency medical reasons, the governor said. “I want to assure New Yorkers that all of our state resources are deployed to help with storm recovery efforts, and we are coordinating closely with local officials across the state,” she added.
The storm, dubbed Winter Storm Elliott by The Weather Channel, has ravaged the Midwest and Northeast over the past 24 hours. As of Saturday morning, the Buffalo airport has clocked nearly 28 inches of snowfall, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Meanwhile, according to the Associated Press, Tens of millions of Americans endured bone-chilling temperatures, blizzard conditions, power outages, and canceled holiday gatherings Friday from a winter storm that forecasters said was nearly unprecedented in its scope, exposing about 60% of the U.S. population to some sort of winter weather advisory or warning.
More than 200 million people were under an advisory or warning on Friday, the National Weather Service said. The weather service’s map “depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” forecasters said.
Power outages have left about 1.4 million homes and businesses in the dark, according to the website PowerOutage, which tracks utility reports. The Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public utility, ended its rolling blackouts Friday afternoon but continued to urge homes and businesses to conserve power. In Georgia, hundreds of people in Atlanta and northern parts of the state were without power and facing the possibility of sub-zero wind chills without heat.
And nearly 5,000 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. were canceled Friday, according to the tracking site FlightAware, causing more mayhem as travelers try to make it home for the holidays. “We’ve just got to stay positive,” said Wendell Davis, who plays basketball with a team in France and was waiting at O’Hare in Chicago on Friday after a series of flight cancellations.
