Historic storm blankets part of New York in over 75 inches of snow
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Megan Barr and Amanda Johnston snowshoe through snow covered streets after an intense lake-effect snowstorm that impacted the area on Nov. 20, in Buffalo, New York. Photo by John Normile/Getty Images
Snow continues to pummel Buffalo, New York, amid a historic storm that’s pounded the region with piles of snow.
Why it matters: The major storm broke daily records for snowfall and more heavy lake-effect snowfall is predicted through Sunday.
- The storm has led to road closures, flight cancellations and driving bans in western New York state, CNN reports.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul activated the national guard to assist with the response to the storm, telling WGRZ that 70 National Guard members have been deployed to Western New York.
- The Buffalo Bills stadium is buried in snow. The team's upcoming game against the Cleveland Browns has been moved to Ford Field in Detroit, according to the team.
Details: The max amount of snowfall reported so far in a particular area is 77 inches in Orchard Park, a village in Erie County, New York, according to the NWS.
- Buffalo recorded 16.1 inches of snowfall on Saturday, shattering the city's daily record for Nov. 19, which was previously 7.6 inches set in 2014, according to the National Weather Service.
- Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Friday night at least two residents of the county died from cardiac events “related to exertion during shoveling/snow blowing.”
- Hamburg, New York, saw a tick under 74 inches of snow by Saturday morning, while the village of Blasdell saw 65 inches, per the NWS.
What we’re seeing: Parking lots, fields and city streets were covered in heavy snow by Saturday morning. At the NWS Buffalo office, more than 17 inches of snow fell overnight.
Zoom out: Already, this has become the third “snowiest November month” in history for the area, the NWS said, as 29.3 inches fell by Saturday morning. The record is held by the year 2000, which saw 45.6 inches of snow by this time.
- The storm could rank among the top 10 of such events in Buffalo, Axios reported.
Context: The snowfall arrived amid a rare weather pattern that’s caused frigid air to head southward from Canada, hitting the lower United States, Axios previously reported. Strong winds caused an extreme lake effect snow event that hit Buffalo and created the storm.
Thought bubble via Andrew Freedman: These snow bands will oscillate based on the wind direction as cold air blows over the unusually mild waters of the Great Lakes, picks up moisture and dumps it over land in the form of snow.
What we’re watching: A lake-effect snow warning is in effect until Sunday afternoon, so this won’t let up yet, according to the NWS.
- Thanksgiving travel may be disrupted. NWS said that “travel could be very difficult to impossible. Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility.”
More from Axios:
- Historic snowstorm underway in Buffalo as unusual cold grips the U.S.
- Thanksgiving travel to hit near pre-pandemic levels
- The big chill: Record cold invades the Midwest, South
Axios' Jacob Knutson contributed to this report.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.
