A gas station canopy lies down after strong winds and heavy snow along Lake Shore Boulevard on December 27, 2022 in Lackawanna, New York.
John Normile | Getty Images
The death toll from a historic blizzard across the United States rose to 65 on Tuesday as record snowfall blocked roads. Hindering rescue effortsofficials said.
Mayor Byron Brown confirmed seven more deaths in Buffalo, telling MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that the storm was “probably the worst this city has seen in over 50 years.” said.
Brown said at a Zoom press conference on Tuesday that another body had been found. By the end of the afternoon, the Erie County coroner’s office had confirmed three more deaths, raising the county’s storm-related death toll to 32, the majority of New York’s 34 deaths.
Despite driving bans in place in parts of the Buffalo area, “a lot of people are still out and it’s just hampering our efforts as first responders,” the city said. Public Works Commissioner Nathan Merton told NBC Tuesday morning that News now added that the agency was trying to reserve at least one lane for emergency vehicles.
“Be patient and get off the road today as well and we need to lift the city of Buffalo’s driving ban as soon as possible,” Brown said.
Erie County, including Buffalo, was at the center of the storm’s most violent and dizzying conditions. Strong winds made Greater Buffalo International Airport feel like -13 degrees over the weekend, according to National Weather Service data.
Erie County Commissioner Mark Polonkers Said On Tuesday, 17 people who died in the county were found dead outside, three inside their vehicles and three while clearing snow. He said he may have died because paramedics had trouble reaching him.
Officials said Sunday that first responders in Buffalo were mostly closed as roads disappeared under snow.
Polonkers noted that private motorists were banned on Erie County roads during the statewide storm emergency.
The ban was scaled back Tuesday to some recommendations in Erie County, but it remained in effect in Buffalo and Lackawanna, Poloncarz said in a statement.
Pedestrians walk a snow-covered street in Buffalo, New York, December 26, 2022.
Joud Vieira | AFP | Getty Images
Forecasts for the area south of Buffalo included the possibility of another inch of snow on Tuesday from the lake’s influence before the precipitation ends.
Since July 1, Buffalo has had at least 100 inches of snow, marking the start of the wettest season on record.
Lake effect snow occurs when cold air passes over warm, unfrozen lake water, transferring moisture and heat to the lower part of the atmosphere. After that, the air rises and clouds form, and heavy snow falls.
Historic cold weather is likely to give way to unseasonably warm weather, with highs in the Buffalo area expected to reach the 50s on Friday, about 20 degrees higher than normal, according to the National Weather Service.
President Joe Biden on Monday approved a state of emergency for New York.
Across the country, temperatures plummeted and giant snowdrifts whitened out cities, causing power outages and the cancellation of thousands of flights.Residents stuck in the house without food.
New York Electricity and Gas Data Tuesday indicated that thousands of customers in western New York who were left in the dark by the storm had regained access to electricity, with only a handful reporting no power on Tuesday night.
More than 2,000 customers in Erie County remained without power on Tuesday night, according to the outage tracker. PowerOutage.us. Buffalo Mayor Brown said Tuesday morning that 20,000 people had lost power before restoration work lit up the city.
A man skis after a winter storm hit the Buffalo area on Main Street in Amherst, New York, December 25, 2022.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
The storm, which stretches from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the Mexican border, has killed more than 60 people as of Tuesday morning, according to an NBC News tally. , Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Thousands of flights to and from the US — most of Southwest Airlines — was canceled on Tuesday, according to Flight Tracking Website FlightAware.
Southwest Airlines cancels 2,900 flights The post-Christmas Monday was bustling with travel reaching 70% of the total schedule, with a ferocious number of passengers stranded between airports.
A man drives past a street during a winter storm that hit the Buffalo area on December 26, 2022 in Amherst, New York.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
In Jackson, Mississippi, a broken pipe left thousands of residents without water on Monday as they struggle to restore pressure to a fragile water system.
Weather forecasters had expected the storm to pick up gradually over the week.
“Lake-effect snow remaining downwind of the Great Lakes will weaken and dissipate Tuesday,” the Weather Service said at 2:59 a.m. ET. Bulletin on Tuesday. Temperatures in the East and Midwest are also expected to moderate over the next few days.
