Buffalo’s deadliest storm in 50 years: Death toll rises to 25 and power is knocked out to thousands

The death toll from an ungodly blizzard in upstate New York has risen to 27, as trapped residents brace for another foot of snow.

The blizzard in Buffalo is now the deadliest storm to affect the western part of the state in at least 50 years, and officials fear the situation may only get worse as more than 12,000 residents remain without power and roads remain impassable.

The city was inundated by six feet of ‘lake effect’ snow, which occurs when frigid air moves over warmer lake waters and creates a freezing spray. 

Shelters and nursing homes are now starting to run out of food, Erie County Executive Marc Poloncarz said at a news conference Monday morning, as first responders struggle to reach people trapped in their cars while a driving ban remains in effect.

‘This is the worst storm probably in our lifetime and maybe in the history of the city,’ he said. ‘And this is not yet the end.’ 

New York Governor Kathy Hochul even said the city of Buffalo is like a ‘war zone.’  

The city is now expected to receive another six to 12 inches of heavy, unplowable snow as the death toll throughout the country rises to nearly 50 and temperatures in Montana dropped as low as -50F(45C) and to -37F(-38C) in Des Moines, Iowa — meaning people there could suffer frostbite in less than five minutes.

More than 55million people are still under weather alerts and on Christmas Day, New York Governor Hochul held a press conference where she described the blizzard as ‘the most devastating storm in Buffalo’s long, storied history’ of horrific storms.

‘It is devastating. It is going to a war zone,’ Hochul said Sunday. In Buffalo, some of those who died were found in cars and others were found on the street in snowbanks, according to Poloncarz, the executive of Erie County.

‘There may be more,’ Poloncarz said. ‘I don’t want to say this is going to be it, because that would be fallacy for me to say that. 

‘Because we know there are people stuck in cars for more than two days. And there are people in homes that are below freezing temperatures.’

Other reported deaths in upstate New York occurred in Amherst, Cheektowaga and Lockport, according to local officials. 

The one person killed in the Lockport died after heavy snow covered the external furnace at a home, causing a case of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Poloncarz late Sunday evening shared that four of those killed were found outside, one inside a car, and one inside a home. 

Three were killed from cardiac events from snow shoveling and snow blowing events and three died while waiting for EMS to arrive.  

‘Sadly, we’re getting reports of additional deaths that still need to be confirmed,’ Poloncarz said Sunday. 

The ages of those killed in Buffalo and the surrounding areas range from 26 to 93. One victim has so far been identified; 56 year-old William Clay, who died on his birthday, December 23, after trying to walk through the snow to go to a store. 

Conditions were so turbulent on Saturday evening, Buffalo Fire Department vehicles could not answer calls as huge snowdrifts continued to cover cars.

Buffalo is now set to be battered by another 36 inches of snow by Tuesday, with the National Weather Service warning extreme flurries will soon hit.

Officials confirmed that the area is no longer under blizzard warnings after being pummeled by 80-mph winds and multiple deaths on Christmas Eve. 

But Poloncarz has compared the current weather disaster to the deadly blizzard of 1977  which claimed the lives of 29 people. 

As of Sunday evening, Hochul said New York state police have been involved in more than 500 rescues. 

More than 12,000 customers in the Buffalo area are still without power on Monday, as officials say it may take days to turn it back on. 

‘Substations froze. They were snowed under. We had a report that one substation had an 18-foot drift on to it,’ Poloncarz said. 

‘And when they got in the substation was frozen. They still don’t even know to the extent the damage that occurred in the substation,’ the executive continued. 

Those without power have been told to leave their water faucets on in order to prevent pipes from freezing and bursting. 

An estimated 43 inches of snow had fallen in Buffalo as of Sunday morning, according to AccuWeather.

On Friday , Buffalo received 22.3 inches, followed by 17.9 inches on Christmas Eve. 

And just after 6pm on Sunday, the National Weather Service of Buffalo shared a startling statistic regarding the snow fall totals in the area. 

‘A very snowy start to the season, with lake effect events focusing upon the #Buffalo airport and vicinity. The 92.7′ of snow is not only the most snow to start the winter season through #Christmas, but also just 2.7′ behind the typical entire seasonal snowfall,’ NWS Buffalo tweeted. 

On Saturday, a 56 year-old father was identified as the first victim of the storm. 

William ‘Romello’ Clay had been missing since midnight on December 23 after leaving his home to go to the store. 

Video shared online showed a man lying face down in the snow Saturday afternoon near Bailey and Kensington Avenue in Buffalo. 

The remains were later identified by Clay’s family members. 

Others killed have yet to be identified in what Governor Hochul on Sunday called ‘the most devastating storm’ in history. 

Throughout the weekend, Erie County warming centers were forced to close because they lost power during the storm. 

Emergency workers in Buffalo made at least 50 rescues between Friday and Saturday – including a small child.

Chief Brian Britzzalaro of the Erie County Sheriff’s Department said: ‘I lived through the Blizzard of ’77. This is worse.’

Wyoming, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties have a winter storm warning through until Monday, with heavy snow, lakeshore flooding and whiteout conditions are causing life-threatening conditions.

Buffalo Airport has seen cancellations with many people becoming stranded and some even being frozen inside their homes as the blistering winter whips the city.

Lake Erie has seen mass flooding, with a restaurant becoming an ice palace after spray from the shoreline hit the entire building.

Homes in Tonawanda in Erie County have been entirely buried in blankets of snow of up to six-foot as residents are struggling with a power outage.

Two golf domes within Buffalo City have been destroyed, with the furious storm causing them to collapse.

Governor Hochul said Friday almost every fire truck in the city was stranded in the snow, as she asked residents to ‘bundle up, stay indoors, and stay safe this weekend.’

National Grid, which services customers in New York and Massachusetts, is asking its customers in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Long Island to reduce natural gas usage until Sunday afternoon – affecting 1.9 million customers.

New York’s international airport was shut down, with tens of thousands of flight being canceled in the past week due to the snow bomb.

The devastation in Buffalo comes as more than 200,000 people across several eastern states woke up without power on Christmas morning and many more had their holiday travel plans upended, even as the five-day-long storm featuring blizzard conditions and ferocious winds showed signs of easing.

It forced the cancellation of nearly 3,000 US flights on Sunday, in addition to some 3,500 scrapped on Saturday and nearly 6,000 Friday, according to tracking website Flightaware.com.

More than 1,000 US flights had already been canceled just hours into Monday, the website reported.

The National Weather Service has now warned that being outdoors in some areas could lead to ‘frostbite in minutes’.

Fatalities have been recorded in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and New York, with four people dying on Saturday in a three-vehicle crash on an interstate highway in Ohio. 

The aftermath of the bomb-cyclone has caused blizzard conditions across almost every state in the US – as millions in New York City have been warned to conserve energy. 

ConEdison urged their four million customers to conserve energy until ‘further notice’ because of the frigid weather, which has issued an increased demand on gas pipelines.

They warned that the call to turn the heating down would affect 1.1 million natural gas customers and 3.5 million electric customers.

Locals in Jackson, Mississippi, have been told they must boil their drinking water because of water lines bursting in the freezing weather. 

Western New York has seen winds of up to 70mph, with blizzard warnings in place so Niagara, Orleans, Erie and Genesee counties until 7am on Sunday.

Thousands of people in Seattle were stuck on planes for hours amid the blizzard conditions, with at last 3,000 flights canceled on Christmas Day already.

Seattle saw hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses left without power with millions left on the edge about the possibility of blackouts.

The American Medical Response of Western New York has also suffered from stolen emergency vehicles after becoming stuck in the snow.

A Chevy Tahoe with AMR markings was stuck in the snow less than a mile from the organization’s office.

Authorities sent a loader to dig the vehicle out, but by the time they arrived, it had been stolen – with officials warning the public not to approach the vehicle if spotted.

Police in West Seneca warned people to stay inside as they posted footage from the car park of a Wegmans store showing the blistering snow that was whipping the car.

Officers were unable to see through the windscreen of their car as the storm rallied around them, meaning any visibility was nearly impossible.

The storm has swept from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande on The Mexican border – with thousands of flights being canceled and causing chaos in the air.

Drivers in Idaho have been urged to use ‘extreme caution’ if they are forced on the roads during the freezing rain warnings.

The water system in Jackson, Mississippi, which partially collapsed in late August, was experiencing ‘fluctuating’ pressure impacting residents on Saturday amid frigid temperatures.