New York Governor Kathy Hochul called in the National Guard and deployed about 70 members to help clear snow in the hardest-hit parts of Erie County.
Hardest hit by the snowfall, Erie County posted a total of 77 inches in Orchard Park, NY, home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
On Thursday, gusts from Lake Erie and Lake Ontario began bringing in the first major blizzard of the season, more than a month before winter began.
Conditions could last into Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Nearly three feet of snow fell at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, where many flights were canceled on Saturday. Buffalo, New York’s second city, was banned again on Saturday morning.
“This was a very unpredictable storm with bands of snow moving back and forth, north to south,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told CNN. “The snow came down very fast, very wet and very heavy.”
Buffalo saw a record daily snowfall of more than 16 inches, surpassing the single-day record of 7.6 inches set in 2014, the National Weather Service said Saturday.
At least two deaths were reported on Friday. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said in a tweet that two residents died of apparent heart attacks while shoveling snow.
County officials have warned people to stay off roads to keep snow removal crews away.
Snow accumulation varied widely throughout the region, illustrating the local nature of the snow throughout the lake. However, 11 provinces remained under a state of emergency which Hochul declared on Thursday.
The U.S. National Weather Service expects up to 14 inches of snow to fall across the lake Saturday evening through Sunday in Chautaqua and Cattaraugus counties. The snow tires are expected to bring up to 2 feet of snow in Oswego and Lewis counties beginning Sunday morning.
After a shift north to Niagara County, the Buffalo area is expected to brace itself for more snow late Saturday night, according to Erie County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Daniel Nevererth.
“Eventually it’s going to come back across the county and come back,” he said.
