Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

At least 25 dead in western New York after worst blizzard in decades

At least 25 dead in western New York after worst blizzard in decades

A blizzard that paralyzed western New York over the Christmas weekend has killed more than two dozen people, local officials said on Monday, as crews struggled to dig out the snow-bound region around Buffalo from its fiercest winter storm in decades.

With snow continuing to fall on top of more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) dumped on Buffalo since the blizzard took shape on Friday, New York's second-largest city stood as ground zero for a storm the governor called an "epic, once-in-a-lifetime" weather disaster.

The toll of confirmed storm-related deaths climbed to 27 in Buffalo and the rest of Erie County on Monday, from 13 the night before. The fatalities included cases of people found in snow banks and in cars or who had died from cardiac stress while plowing or blowing snow, county executive Mark Poloncarz said.

The county issued a "Shovel Smart" alert warning that the over-exertion from "shoveling heavy, wet snow can cause back injuries and heart attacks."

At least 60 lives have been lost in weather-related incidents nationwide, according to an NBC News tally, from an arctic deep freeze and sprawling storm front that extended over most of the United States for days, as far south as the Mexican border.

The larger storm system has wreaked havoc with travel across the country over the holiday weekend, stranding passengers as thousands of flights were canceled.

The greater Buffalo region, on the edge of Lake Erie near the Canadian border, was hardest hit.

Nearly 50 inches (1.27 meters) of snow was measured at Buffalo Airport as of Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Although blinding winds that created white-out conditions for more than two days had abated by Monday, snow kept coming down, with accumulations of up to a foot (30 cm) more forecast through Tuesday in areas south of Buffalo and north of Syracuse.


RESCUE EFFORTS PERSIST


Roadways remained littered with cars, buses, ambulances, tow trucks and even plows buried beneath towering drifts, complicating efforts to clear snow-blanketed streets and reach stranded residents in need of medical care. Authorities deployed high-lift tractors as hospital transports.

Despite a ban on personal road travel that remained in effect on Monday, hundreds of motorists had to be rescued from their vehicles over the weekend

A few of the grocery stores that had been closed for days reopened on Monday, and people trekked more than a mile (1.6 km) through the middle of otherwise impassable streets to get there.

The severity of the storm, notable for a region accustomed to harsh winter weather, grew out of a combination of meteorological factors that supercharged one another.

Howling winds, numbing cold and "lake-effect" snow - the result of moisture picked up by frigid air moving over warmer lake waters - produced a storm that New York Governor Kathy Hochul said would go down in history as "the Blizzard of '22."

She and local officials ranked it as the worst Buffalo-area snowstorm since a 1977 blizzard that killed nearly 30 people.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued a federal emergency declaration for the state of New York on Monday night, authorizing U.S. government assistance to bolster state and local recovery efforts, the White House announced.

"My heart is with those who lost loved ones this holiday weekend. You are in my and Jill's prayers," Biden said in a Twitter message earlier in the day.

Hundreds of National Guard troops were assisting local emergency personnel and state police on Monday as crews rescued people still trapped in cars and homes without electricity, performed wellness checks and delivered food and basic needs.

Poloncarz said many emergency workers had themselves become trapped in the snowy onslaught over the weekend, requiring special teams to be dispatched "to rescue the rescuers."

Thousands of people in Erie County had power restored as of Monday morning, Poloncarz said, though some 14,000 customers were still without power statewide, according to poweroutage.us.

Poloncarz pleaded for motorists to heed the driving ban in order to keep free of traffic those narrow street routes that had been cleared for emergency and utility workers trying to weave through an obstacle course of buried cars and snow banks.

"There are cars everywhere, everywhere, pointing the wrong direction on roads. They've basically been plowed in and they need to be dug out and towed. It's going to take time to clear those," Poloncarz said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
German Chancellor Merz Keeps Putin Guessing on Missile Strategy
Mandelson Criticizes UK's 'Fetish' for Abandoning EU Regulations
British Fishing Boat Owner Fined €30,000 by French Authorities
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
×