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ClimateUnited States of America

Major snowfall blankets western New York

November 20, 2022

Areas around Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in the US and Canada are facing a massive lake-effect snowstorm, affecting travel ahead of Thanksgiving. American football teams were also forced to seek shelter.

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Vehicles are covered in a snowdrift during a lull in a snow storm hitting the Buffalo area in Hamburg, New York, U.S. November 19, 2022.
Residents in the Buffalo area woke up to find their vehicles and rooms submerged in snowImage: Sarah Irwin/REUTERS

Vast snowfall of almost 2 meters (more than 6 feet) in places has caused restrictions to road travel, flight cancellations and forced professional sports events to relocate in the Buffalo area in New York state near the border with Canada. 

New York Governor Kathy Hochul called in some 70 National Guard personnel to help with snow removal in the worst-hit parts of Erie Country. 

Resident uses snow blower on sidewalk during a snowstorm as extreme winter weather hits Buffalo, New York, U.S., November 19, 2022.
Two people suffered cardiac arrest while shoveling the vast snowfallImage: Lindsay DeDario/REUTERS

Orchard Park, where the NFL American football team the Buffalo Bills play, in Erie County recorded 77 inches (around 196 centimeters) of snow. 

Buffalo saw daily record snowfall of more than 16 inches, topping the one-day record of 7.6 inches recorded in 2014, the National Weather Service said on Saturday.

The lake-effect snowstorm began around Lakes Erie and Ontario late on Thursday, still a month before the official start of winter. There was a slight respite in the snowfall on Saturday, but the conditions could persist through Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service. 

Lake-effect snow is a phenomenon when cold air blows across a large unfrozen lake that is relatively warm; this heats the cold air from below and causes heavy localized snowfalls.

Flights canceled, highways closed, games relocated

The Buffalo Niagara International Airport, named after the famous Niagara Falls nearby, canceled a series of flights on Saturday. 

Part of Interstate 90 was closed, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz expressed frustration on Twitter at reports of trucks getting stuck on smaller roads as they tried to get around the I-90 detour. A video posted online showed a line of trucks backed up on a street in Orchard Park.

A person uses a shovel to dig his car which was stuck in the middle of the road during a snow storm hitting the Buffalo area in Buffalo, New York, U.S. November 19, 2022.
Some roads in the Buffalo area were rendered practically impassableImage: Carlos Osorio/REUTERS

Two people died of cardiac arrest while shoveling snow. One snowplow driver was killed in a crash. 

"This has been a very unpredictable storm with the snow bands moving, back and forth, north to south," Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told CNN. "The snow has come down very fast, very wet, very heavy."

Buffalo is the second-largest city in New York state, with a population of around 275,000, on the border to Canada near Toronto. 

A snowmobiler rides in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, in front of the Buffalo, N.Y. skyline, during an early winter storm that delivered high winds and large amounts of snow across southern Ontario and western New York, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022.
Ontario, Canada has a great view of the Buffalo skyline across Lake OntarioImage: Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP

The National Football League on Friday announced that Sunday's game between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns would be moved to Detroit. By Saturday evening, despite the relocation, the game had sold out. 

msh/wmr (AP, Reuters)

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