Heavy snowfall blankets western New York with first ‘lake-effect’ storm of season

An early winter ‘lake-effect’ storm dumped 5 feet or more of snow on parts of western New York state in the US, disrupting travel on major roadways with bursts of icy powder blowing in from Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

As temperatures plunge and heavy snowfall continues to pound these regions, two Erie County residents have died after suffering cardiac events due to overexertion while clearing snow.

The Erie County Department of Public Works reported over 60 inches of snow “along some of the worst parts of the storm,” county executive Mark Poloncarz said on Twitter.

High winds and snow-draped tree limbs and power lines knocked out electricity to thousands of utility customers, while the storm also forced closures along the New York Thruway and flight cancellations at Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

About 6 million people in five Great Lakes states – from Michigan to New York – are under snow alerts, as reported by CNN.

The squalls could persist through Sunday, creating sporadic blasts of intense snowfall along narrow bands in some locations south of Buffalo, according to National Weather Service forecasts.

Snowfalls of such proportions are not uncommon for western New York in November, when the relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes can mix with frigid air in the upper atmosphere dropping down from the Arctic, according to the weather service.

The storm developed as temperatures for the region, and much of the northern United States, plunged 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit below average for this time of year.