Winter storm kills 60 across the US, over 15,000 flights cancelled; Buffalo worst hit

A relentless storm, what authorities called the ‘blizzard of the century,’ paralyzed western New York over the Christmas weekend.

So far, the storm has killed 27 people in New York and at least 60 across the United States.

Local officials on Monday said efforts to dig out the snow-bound region around Buffalo were on as rescue operations continued.

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 needing medical care.

Authorities deployed high-lift tractors as hospital transport.

BUFFALO WORST HIT

In New York, particularly in Buffalo, authorities said bodies were discovered inside vehicles and under snow banks as emergency officials went from car to car to search for more survivors.

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.

I spoke with @GovKathyHochul to get an update on the extreme winter weather hitting New York. We stand ready to make sure they have the resources they need to get through this.

My heart is with those who lost loved ones this holiday weekend. You are in my and Jill’s prayers. pic.twitter.com/Lt6eZ1YJR5

— President Biden (@POTUS) December 26, 2022

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

Up to 9 more inches of snow (23 centimeters) could fall in some areas of western New York through Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.

Scientists say the climate change crisis may have contributed to the storm’s intensity. That’s because the atmosphere can carry more water vapor, which acts as fuel, said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

The blizzard roared across western New York on Friday and Saturday. Locals even pleaded on social media for donations of food and diapers.

“It was like looking at a white wall for 14 to 18 hours straight,” Poloncarz, the county official, said.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul toured the aftermath in Buffalo — her hometown — on Monday, calling the blizzard “one for the ages.”

OVER 15,000 FLIGHTS WERE CANCELLED ACROSS THE US

The National Weather Service said the snow total at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport stood at 49.2 inches (1.25 meters) at 10 am Monday.

Officials say the airport will be shut through Wednesday morning.

The brutal storm, howling winds, and sub-zero temperatures forced the cancellation of more than 15,000 flights across the United States in recent days.

According to FlightAware’s tracking site, some 3,410 domestic and international flights were canceled on Monday at about 3 pm EDT.

The site said Southwest Airlines had 2,497 cancellations — about 60 percent of its scheduled flights and about ten times as many as any other primary US carrier.

Southwest said the weather was improving, which would “stabilize and improve our situation.”

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