7 Dead in Western NY as Historic Blizzard Traps Residents, Knocks Out Power

At least seven people have died in the Buffalo area after a historic storm unleashed its full fury with hurricane-force winds causing whiteout conditions. Emergency response efforts were paralyzed and the city’s international airport was shut down.

Eric County officials reported three deaths on Saturday, before confirming four additional deaths by Christmas morning. Two who died suffered medical emergencies in their homes and couldn’t be saved because emergency crews were unable to reach them amid historic blizzard conditions.

“As of yesterday, we had announced three total deaths. We can confirm four more deaths for a total of seven,” Eric Co. Executive Mark Poloncarz said Sunday morning. “There may be more.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm. Hochul said late Friday she was deploying 54 members of the National Guard to assist residents amid the winter storm and ferocious blizzard that have hit the region.

Poloncarz said ambulances needed more than three hours for a single trip to a hospital when they could get through the snow and large snow drifts, abandoned cars and downed power lines are slowing the progress of plows in clearing roads.

“Some were found in cars, some were found on the street in snowbanks,” said Poloncarz. “We know there are people who have been stuck in cars for more than 2 days.”

Deep snow, single-digit temperatures and day-old power outages sent Buffalo residents scrambling Saturday to get out of their houses to anywhere that had heat.

Forecasters said 28 inches of snow accumulated as of Saturday in Buffalo. Last month, areas just south of the city saw a record 6 feet of snow from a single storm.

The latest storm knocked out the furnace in the Buffalo home of Brian LaPrade, who woke up Saturday morning to indoor temperatures dipping to below 50 degrees.

“This morning I had to go out and dig out the vents,” LaPrade said. “As it was, the snow was taller than my snow blower.”

Plows were on the roads, but large snow drifts, abandoned cars and downed power lines were slowing progress.

Western New York often sees dramatic lake-effect snow, which is caused by cool air picking up moisture from the warm water, then dumping it on the land. But even area residents found conditions to be dire on Christmas Eve.

Latricia Stroud said she and her two daughters, 1 and 12, were stranded without heat or power in their Buffalo house since Friday afternoon, with the snow too deep to leave.

“I have to go over a snowbank to get out,” Stroud told the AP. “There’s a warming center, I just need a ride to get there.”