Heavy snow and numbing temperatures left parts of the US in a deep freeze on Sunday as the Thanksgiving holiday weekend came to an end. Some snowmobilers and skiers enjoyed the winter conditions as hard-core fans prepared for the NFL game in Buffalo.
In the remote Tug Hill region of New York state, where lake effect snow at Lake Ontario can dump several feet of snow at a time, there was up to 46 inches (117 centimeters) in the Barnes Corners area.
RELATED COVERAGE >>> Heavy snow blankets parts of the US during a busy holiday travel weekend
“We just keep digging,” said Kevin Tyo, a local businessman. “We were plowing all day yesterday.” Like many locals, he has a plow attached to his truck for the winter, “and I have a tractor with a bucket and a snow blower.”
His advice? “If you’re not used to it, stay home. When you’re gone, slow down.”
Lake effect snow is caused when warm, moist air is blown over a body of water and mixes with colder, drier air, creating narrow bands of often heavy snow on land. Accumulations could be fast: The U.S. Army’s Fort Drum, near hard-hit Watertown, New York, issued a warning saying up to 18 inches of snow could fall on Sunday.
Commercial vehicles remained prohibited in both directions of I-90 in western New York for nearly 130 miles to the Pennsylvania line.
The Buffalo Bills kickoff is scheduled for Sunday evening
In Buffalo, officials with the NFL’s Bills had sought stadium snow shovelers for the season, including ahead of Sunday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. The team said it would pay $20 an hour and provide food and hot drinks.
The lake effect storm began impacting the area near the Bills stadium in Orchard Park, New York on Saturday. Snow fell near the stadium hours before the game, and the state Department of Transportation and others planned to conduct “intensive” plowing of nearby roads until late in the game. The Bills often play at home in such conditions late in the season.
Light snow continued to fall at Highmark Stadium as crews began removing the last remnants of snow from the tarp protecting the field about 3 1/2 hours before Sunday night’s game. Several shovelers were busy clearing the stairs, while most seats remained covered in snow. Crews used plows to clear the stadium’s walkways. The parking lots around the stadium had already been cleared and salted.
Another 12 to 2 feet of snow is possible in western New York, and another 2 to 3 feet in northern New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said Sunday.
Spent a night in the car with children
Christine Schintzius set off on clear roads Friday with her 4- and 8-year-old sons and 12- and 15-year-old nieces from Wales, New York, southeast of Buffalo. They planned to attend a hockey tournament in Cleveland, but instead found themselves snowed in a Honda Pilot for 19 hours.
They faced seemingly endless lines of stopped traffic, first for nine hours on Interstate 90 near the New York-Pennsylvania border, and again for 10 hours on Route 5 in Pennsylvania, until residents plowed them out.
“It was packed, there were a lot of people, a lot,” Schintzius said by telephone on Sunday.
While stuck on Route 5, Schintzius never turned off her car, fearing it wouldn’t start in the cold. Two truck drivers checked on them during the night. In the morning, police checked in, along with a resident who walked the line of cars handing out muffins and making sure the stranded drivers had water.
“Luckily all my kids and my nieces are traveling well,” said Schintzius, who had packed a cooler with lunch meat, snacks, yogurt and fruit. “And luckily I actually had a full tank of gas.”
When they were finally free from the backup on Saturday, Schintzius took a detour home, avoiding the worst of the snow that was yet to fall.
“I was afraid I would never get stuck in that again,” she said.
New York and Pennsylvania declare states of emergency
A blast of Arctic air last week brought bitter temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit below average to the Northern Plains, the National Weather Service said. Cold air was expected to move across the eastern third of the U.S. on Monday, with temperatures about 10 degrees below average.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a disaster emergency proclamation on Saturday, saying parts of Erie County in the northwest received nearly 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow, with more expected through Monday evening. Due to the snow crisis in the city of Erie, City Hall is closed to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Michigan is also battered
Parts of Michigan were pummeled by snow due to lake effect, while bands rolling off Lake Superior buried parts of the Upper Peninsula under 2 feet (61 centimeters) or more, said Lily Chapman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
There was 27 inches (69 centimeters) of snow northeast of Ironwood, in the western reaches of the Upper Peninsula. Up to 12 inches could fall across the eastern Upper Peninsula through Monday morning, Chapman said Saturday.
A light dusting of snow fell across Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, providing a beautiful backdrop for Christmas decorations and good practices for road crews.
Over the next few days, minimum temperatures in the Appalachians are expected to drop between 10 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-12 to -7 degrees Celsius).
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