Winter comes early to Upstate New York….
The storm could go on to dump snow on Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other parts of New York.
A historic snowstorm is slamming western New York state Saturday with over 6 feet of snow in some places, closing roads, triggering driving bans and canceling flights the weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Extreme snowfall “will produce near zero visibility, very difficult to impossible travel, damage to infrastructure, and may paralyze the hardest-hit communities,” the Weather Prediction Center said Saturday morning.
Snowfall totals of over 6 feet have been recorded in two locations, according to the National Weather Service. Orchard Park, where the NFL’s Buffalo Bills play, has picked up 77.0 inches in the last 48 hours, and Natural Bridge, just east of Watertown, has picked up 72.3 inches – historic numbers for the area.
As the snowfall intensified, two county residents died from cardiac complications related to shoveling and attempting to clear the grounds, said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
“We send our deepest sympathies and remind all that this snow is very heavy and dangerous,” Poloncarz said. “Please continue to avoid shoveling this very heavy, wet snow – and use caution and avoid overexertion if you must shovel today.”
Winter weather alerts are still in effect for over 6 million people across six Great Lakes states Saturday morning – Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Forecasters and officials have been sounding the alarm on the life-threatening nature of this snowstorm, which is historic even for the Buffalo region where heavy snow is the norm during winter months….
image…Firefighters respond Thursday in Snyder, New York, to a vehicle crash on I-290…..
Snyder Fire Department/Facebook