Some Towns in Western New York Buried Due To 5 Feet of Snow
Western New York Heavy Snow Fall
NEW YORK: Within hours, several people were dead, as 5 feet of snow blanketed the region, schools and government offices were closed, sporting events were postponed, and hundreds of people, including Smith, were stranded across a stretch of western New York just south of Buffalo.
At least seven people died as a result of the weather, according to local authorities. Four of the victims had cardiac problems, including one man who needed treatment but could not be taken to a hospital in time. In Erie County, which includes Buffalo, a 46-year-old man was found dead inside his car buried under 15 feet of snow in Alden, according to county officials.
With another blast of snow expected overnight, dumping as much as another 3 feet of snow in some places, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo warned that people could be trapped inside for days.
In the modern-day version of a sending an SOS, scores of people posted pictures on Twitter showing the wall of white that greeted them when they opened their front doors. Some took a playful attitude, carving out shelves in the snow to create natural refrigerators.
As much of the nation was plunged into a deep freeze, the sudden rush of cold air from the north set the perfect conditions for the moisture off the Great Lakes to create sprawling snow bands, the most ferocious of which settled over the communities just south of Buffalo on Tuesday.
Cuomo declared a state of emergency and deployed the National Guard to help rescue people stranded in the storm.
But unlike a typical winter storm, the snow caused by the “lake effect” was not felt equally across the region. The divide was so stark that someone on a tall building in downtown Buffalo had clear skies overheard but could see a menacing gray wall of moisture and snow being swept up off the lake and driven south.
In Lancaster, New York, where more than 60 inches of snow fell in less than 24 hours, the streets looked like a stage set for a dystopian movie, where snow has claimed dominion over mankind.
Source: ndtv news
