Winter hits New York hard. About two feet of snow fell in the town of Orchard Park south of Buffalo on Sunday morning (local time), according to the National Weather Service. More than six inches of snow fell an hour in some places, the New York Times reports.
According to initial estimates, a new record for most snowfall could have been broken within 24 hours. “Something like this has never happened before,” Kathy Hochul said at a press conference on Saturday afternoon (local time).
The governor of New York had already declared a state of emergency in some regions on Thursday. On Saturday, Hochul asked US President Joe Biden for federal assistance to provide additional support to affected communities.
Driving ban and canceled flights
The storm led to road closures, driving bans and dozens of flight cancellations at Buffalo International Airport, according to CNN. The American Football League NFL moved a game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns to Detroit at short notice.
Two people have died of heart problems while clearing snow in Erie County, County Commissioner Mark Poloncarz wrote on Twitter. In addition to New York, authorities and weather experts had also warned of the particularly dangerous storm in the US states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In Indiana, west of New York, the driver of a snow plow had a fatal accident on Friday.
Lake Effect is to blame
One reason for the onset of winter is the «Lake effect». Extremely cold air blows over the Great Lakes – a group of five contiguous freshwater lakes – in the northern US, whose waters are significantly warmer. Moisture rises, is swept up in the air current and then snows in narrow strips of precipitation over land on the southeast side of the lakes.
According to the forecast, snowfall should decrease at the beginning of the week. This Thursday is Thanksgiving, the American harvest festival. Besides Christmas, the holiday is one of the most important family celebrations in the US – travel volume is particularly high during this time. (SDA)