Buffalo slammed with lake-effect snow, as storm hits parts of N.Y. state hard

A dangerous lake-effect snowstorm paralyzed parts of western and northern New York on Friday, with about a metre of snow already on the ground in some places by early afternoon. The storm was blamed for the deaths of two people stricken while clearing snow.

The storm’s severity varied widely due to the peculiarities of lake-effect storms, which are caused by frigid winds picking up moisture from the warmer lakes, and dumping snow in narrow bands.

Residents in some parts of Buffalo awoke to blowing, heavy snow, punctuated by occasional claps of thunder, while just a few kilometres north, less snow had fallen overnight and there were patches of blue sky.

The worst snowfall so far was south of the city. The U.S. National Weather Service reported single-day totals of 61 centimetres of snow in many places along the eastern end of Lake Erie, with bands of heavier precipitation bringing more than 102 centimetres in the Buffalo suburbs of Orchard Park and Hamburg, N.Y., where rescue crews were called to help a resident whose home buckled under the weight.

Schools, Amtrak stations shut down

Schools were shuttered. Amtrak stations in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Depew closed Thursday and will stay closed Friday.

Numerous flights in and out of Buffalo Niagara International Airport were cancelled.

The storm was blamed for two deaths, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said, tweeting they were “associated with cardiac events related to exertion during shoveling/snow blowing.”

“We send our deepest sympathies and remind all that this snow is very heavy and dangerous,” he said.

Even before the snow began falling, the NFL announced it would relocate the Buffalo Bills’ Sunday home game against the Cleveland Browns from its Orchard Park stadium to Detroit.

A day later, the Bills tweeted photos of Highmark Stadium showing the playing field and its more than 60,000 seats virtually buried in snow, and forecasters warned of roughly another 30 centimetres or more by Sunday.

Scott Fleetwood of West Seneca, N.Y., captured video of lightning crashing outside his home throughout the night, as well as snow swiftly burying the pumpkins on his porch.

“The sky is white…. Everything’s white. The only thing you can see really is the house across the street,” he said.

Not a good day for drivers

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

The Amazon employee expected she’d be outside much of the day and was nervous about the condition of the roads.

“Right now, it’s looking pretty bad,” she said.

With numerous cars stuck and abandoned, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown urged people to stay off the roads in hard-hit south Buffalo, where extra city and private plows were deployed to open up snow-clogged neighborhood streets.

Meanwhile, streets in downtown and north Buffalo had been cleared but were virtually empty of traffic Friday afternoon.

Emergency declared in 11 counties

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

The declaration covers 11 counties, with commercial truck traffic banned from a stretch of Interstate 90.

Poloncarz, the Erie County executive, issued a driving ban beginning Thursday night, though it was downgraded to an advisory for most of the city of Buffalo on Friday.

The weather service also warned of accumulations of around 60 centimetres or more of snow in northern New York on the eastern edge of Lake Ontario, and in parts of northern Michigan through Sunday. Parts of Pennsylvania also were seeing accumulations of lake-effect snow.

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

In southwestern Michigan, state police reported a 20- to 25-vehicle pileup on U.S. 131 in Kalamazoo County. No serious injuries were reported.

Highway pileup in Michigan

Buffalo has experience with dramatic lake-effect snowstorms, few worse than the one that struck in November 2014. That epic storm dumped two metres of snow on some communities over three days, collapsing roofs and trapping motorists in more than 100 vehicles on a lakeside stretch of the New York State Thruway.

Registered nurse Mary Ann Murphy recalled trudging on foot to Mercy Hospital, her husband, Steve, at her side in the 2014 storm. The memory made both especially glad she was able to drive to work Friday.

“I just kind of gunned it down the street in my little SUV,” said Murphy, who lives about one and a half kilometres from the Buffalo hospital. “I was just thrilled I didn’t have to walk.”

The director of maternal child services, Murphy said some of her colleagues had spent the night rather than risk a treacherous commute. They expected to deliver eight babies on Friday.