The city of Buffalo in Western New York has been battered by the bomb cyclone that continues to lash the eastern seaboard and mid-west, bringing with it blizzards, freezing temperatures and flooding.
Families are pleading for help on behalf of loved ones stuck in their homes without power. Some have issued calls for aid while trapped in cars on roads and highways blanketed by several feet of snow.
The National Guard has been deployed to help with rescue efforts after emergency services were overwhelmed and police vehicles and ambulances were left unable to travel in the Arctic conditions. Hotlines set up to help the stranded and desperate are also overwhelmed.
Across the country, the storm has claimed the lives of at least 19 people, three of which were in Erie County – and more deaths are expected. The storm is impacting 200 million people nationwide while leaving millions without electricity on Christmas Day.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday that every fire truck in Buffalo was stranded in the snow. It was estimated that around 500 cars were stuck on Friday night in the county.
The snowfall total on Friday was 22.3 inches, which nearly doubled the maximum record set in 1976, which was 12.6 inches
The blizzard warning will remain in effect in Erie County until 7am on Sunday. Another one to three feet of snow is predicted through the weekend
Across the country, the storm has claimed the lives of 19 people, three of those have come in Erie County
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday that Buffalo Niagara International Airport will be closed through Monday morning, some roads would be closed through Christmas day and almost every fire truck in Buffalo was stranded in the snow
Colleen Darby, 59, of Williamsville outside Buffalo, says she had planned to host a Christmas party for family and friends, but the storm will keep her and her daughter at home with a refrigerator full of food
‘No matter how many emergency vehicles we have, they cannot get through the conditions as we speak,’ Hochul said.
In a sign of the difficulties faced by emergency services, paramedics had talk a woman through delivering birth as they were unable to get to her.
Facebook pages have been set up to help those stranded in the blizzards. Many posts are from people who have suffered power outages and are trapped in their homes in freezing temperatures. Some people have complained they are without vital medication.
Brandi Benham, 29, told DailyMail.com her 49-year-old mom was trapped for more than 24 hours at home without power and crucial oxygen supply. Brandi posted a desperate request for help before several of her mom’s neighbors were able to reach her.
‘Her neighbors have been able to get to her and get her barricaded into the kitchen with the stove lit, so she’s at least trying to stay warm. They have brought her portable oxygen to the police station and they are charging it there, but they are running on a generator power as well.’
Brandi said emergency services were unable to dispatch anyone. ‘The roads are just impassable. The ploughs can’t get through, so the ambulances are getting stuck.’
Cars have been buried under several feet of snow and people have reported being stranded on highways, unable to get help
Travis Sanchez trudges over a snowdrift with a pair of shovels for a stranded motorist on Chenango Street in Buffalo, N.Y. on Saturday
A person walks on the street as a winter storm rolls through Western New York Saturday, December 24, 2022, in Amherst N.Y.
‘It would be any possible for any vehicle to get out of their driveway. Even if you could uncover your car, the plough hasn’t come down our road.’
Emergency services ‘sound just as desperate and helpless as we are’, she added.
In the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga, two people died in their homes on Friday when emergency crews could not reach them in time to treat their medical emergencies, according to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. Officials and meteorologists have described the storm as the worst blizzard ever faced by the region.
The snowfall total on Friday was 22.3 inches, which was nearly double the maximum record set in 1976 at 12.6 inches. The blizzard warning will remain in effect in Erie County until 7am on Sunday. Another one to three feet of snow is predicted through the weekend.
‘This may turn out to be the worst storm in our community’s history,’ Poloncarz said Saturday morning. ‘There are still likely hundreds of people stuck in vehicles.’ While a Buffalo Police Department spokesperson said the third person was found dead in the city.
Poloncarz also said first responders are ‘preparing to encounter more fatalities.’ Officials have warned frozen pipes in homes could become blocked and increase the chances of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The executive said that in one incident, paramedics had talk a woman through delivering birth as they were unable to get to her: ‘These are the situations that are going on all across our community right now. This is horrible.’
He said a hotline for immediate and life-threatening situations was receiving 400 calls per hour. He urged people who aren’t in an emergency not to call the number.
Emergency workers from the Sheriff’s Office had made 50 rescues between Friday and Saturday, including a small child.
Hoak’s restaurant is covered in ice from the spray of Lake Erie waves during a winter storm that hit the Buffalo region in Hamburg, New York
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said there is no emergency service available in Buffalo and several populous communities surrounding it because so many vehicles are snowbound
Gov. Hochul late Friday announced plans to deploy 54 members of the National Guard to the area
The storm began in Buffalo as a record-breaking nearly two inches of rain drenched the area on Friday, the previous record for the same day was 1.7 inches set in 1878
Over the course of 24 hours between Friday and Saturday morning, the temperature in Erie County plummeted from 38 degrees to four degrees with wind chills coming in around minus 21
AccuWeather’s Jake Sojda 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’
In an interview with CNN, Poloncarz said: ‘Don’t leave your home. It’s much safer to be inside, even if you lost your power with it only being 45 degrees inside, than going out and dealing with minus 20 wind chills and blinding conditions.’
Colleen Darby, 59, of Williamsville outside Buffalo, says she had planned to host a Christmas party for family and friends, but the storm will keep her and her daughter at home with a refrigerator full of food.
‘I’ve never seen the likes of this kind of storm,’ said Darby, a lifelong resident of the area. ‘I can’t even get out of my house, right now. The snow is up to my chest. You can’t even walk through it because it’s so heavy and thick.’
Sojda added: ‘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’
Ice covers the shoreline around Lake Erie in Hamburg, New York, as winter storm Elliot struck
Plows work to clear ice and snow along the Lake Erie shoreline in upstate New York
Poloncarz said there is no emergency service available in Buffalo and several populous communities surrounding it because so many vehicles are snowbound.
‘That is not to say attempts aren’t being made, but there is no guarantee that in a life-threatening emergency situation that they’re going to be able to respond immediately,’ Poloncarz said.
As of Christmas Eve afternoon, 30,000 people in Erie County were without electricity. Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown said Saturday: ‘Power outages are possible across the City of Buffalo and the Western New York region throughout the duration of the storm.’
Hochul late Friday announced plans to deploy 54 members of the National Guard to the area. The Christmas weekend storm follows another blizzard that dumped more than 6 feet of snow in western and northern New York, resulting in three deaths, just over a month ago.
The white out conditions in the Buffalo area. Local meteorologist Dan Russell said: ‘I’ve covered many winter weather storms through the years. This is about, if not the worst I’ve ever seen!’
A public service advert has asked anybody with a snowmobile to come forward to aid emergency services in Erie County, New York
Downtown Buffalo seen on December 23, an AccuWeather meteorologist has said that the storm is likely to worsen in the area
On Saturday, those service members were aiding in rescuing people from cars that had become stranded in roads around the area.
New York often sees dramatic lake-effect snow, which is caused by cool air picking up moisture from the warm water, then releasing it in bands of windblown snow over land.
The storm began in Buffalo as a record breaking nearly two inches of rain drenched the area on Friday, the previous record for the same day was 1.7 inches set in 1878. As the bone-chilling wind blew into town, the rain turned to snow.
Over the course of 24 between Friday and Saturday morning, the temperature in Erie County plummeted from 38 degrees to four degrees with wind chills coming in around minus 21.
During a CNN broadcast, a bizarre moment occurred when reporter Polo Sandoval was barely visible on camera due to the whiteout conditions in Buffalo.
Buffalo-based meteorologist Dan Russell said: ‘I’ve covered many winter weather storms through the years. This is about, if not the worst I’ve ever seen!’
AccuWeather’s Jake Sojda 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. 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.’
Extreme meteorologist Reed Timmer told AccuWeather: ‘One of the most extensive, most intense blizzards I’ve ever covered. Just a feeling out here of helplessness not being able to see anything, losing your sense of up versus down.’
CBS Buffalo meteorologist Don Paul told the Washington Post: ‘The blizzard of 85 paralyzed the city, but this is the worst. That storm had gusts over 50. This one has had numerous gusts over 65 and some over 70. It’s a monster.’
In response to the inclement weather, President Joe Biden said: ‘This is a really serious weather alert. Please take this storm extremely seriously.’
The NWS warned: ‘In some areas, being outdoors could lead to frostbite in minutes.’
