Western New York communities slammed by historic snow brace for two more feet
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A new blast of snow is pounding Buffalo Thursday morning, piling more misery on a city already buried by an epic, deadly snowfall that could leave some areas with more than 8 feet of snow on the ground when it's all done.
"It's going to come down with just as much intensity," Rich Tobe, the deputy county executive, told The Buffalo News.
The Buffalo area found itself buried under as much as 5 1/2 feet of snow Wednesday, with another lake-effect storm expected to bring an average of 2 more feet by late Thursday. The New York State Electric and Gas Corporation said more than 4,000 homes are without power in the region, the report said.
The storms' death toll hit eight, with at least four heart attacks, when a man in his 60s was stricken a day earlier while using a snow blower.
"Heavy lake effect snow will result in very difficult or nearly impossible travel at times in the heaviest portion of the band," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. The storm is expected to last until late Friday morning. But forecasters say a rapid weekend warmup, with temperatures as high as 60 and heavy rain, could turn all that snow into floods.
VIDEO: Storm blamed for at least 8 deaths
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is advising western New Yorkers to "stay home and take it easy" while crews clear Buffalo-area roads and highways clogged with several feet of snow from lake-effect storms. The storm trapped more than 100 vehicles along the New York State Thruway. But Cuomo said those stranded on the Thruway have been removed other than a few truck drivers who opted to stay.
Interstate 90 remained closed from Rochester to the Pennsylvania line.
Some Buffalo-area schools are closed for the third consecutive day. All schools in the cities of Buffalo and Lackawanna are closed Thursday, as are suburban districts in the towns of Amherst, Tonawanda, Hamburg, Orchard Park, Lancaster, Cheektowaga and West Seneca.
The University at Buffalo's North and South campuses are closed, along with Erie Community College's campuses. Five other colleges in the Buffalo area have also called off classes.
Authorities say residents of a suburban Buffalo mobile home park are being evacuated after their roofs began to collapse under the weight of heavy snow.
Fire Commissioner Peter Spilsbury of the Seneca Hose Fire Co. says 15 to 20 people are being evacuated from their homes at the French Quarter Mobile Home Park in the town of West Seneca, just east of Buffalo.
One volunteer firefighter reportedly said crews had to rip a door off of one of the homes to free a trapped woman.
Amtrak says the Maple Leaf, between New York City and Toronto, and Trains 63 and 64 will be restored starting Thursday, with delays expected. Service was suspended Tuesday because of the heavy snowfall and travel bans were issued by local officials in Erie County, which has Amtrak stations in Buffalo and suburban Depew.
Other Amtrak service between Albany-Rensselaer and Buffalo or Cleveland remains temporarily suspended through Thursday afternoon. This includes Amtrak Empire Service and Lake Shore Limited trains scheduled through mid-day.
Amtrak service north, east and south of Albany continues to operate.
A new blast of snow is pounding Buffalo Thursday morning, piling more misery on a city already buried by an epic, deadly snowfall that could leave some areas with more than 8 feet of snow on the ground when it's all done.
"It's going to come down with just as much intensity," Rich Tobe, the deputy county executive, told The Buffalo News.
The Buffalo area found itself buried under as much as 5 1/2 feet of snow Wednesday, with another lake-effect storm expected to bring an average of 2 more feet by late Thursday. The New York State Electric and Gas Corporation said more than 4,000 homes are without power in the region, the report said.
The storms' death toll hit eight, with at least four heart attacks, when a man in his 60s was stricken a day earlier while using a snow blower.
"Heavy lake effect snow will result in very difficult or nearly impossible travel at times in the heaviest portion of the band," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. The storm is expected to last until late Friday morning. But forecasters say a rapid weekend warmup, with temperatures as high as 60 and heavy rain, could turn all that snow into floods.
VIDEO: Storm blamed for at least 8 deaths
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is advising western New Yorkers to "stay home and take it easy" while crews clear Buffalo-area roads and highways clogged with several feet of snow from lake-effect storms. The storm trapped more than 100 vehicles along the New York State Thruway. But Cuomo said those stranded on the Thruway have been removed other than a few truck drivers who opted to stay.
Interstate 90 remained closed from Rochester to the Pennsylvania line.
Some Buffalo-area schools are closed for the third consecutive day. All schools in the cities of Buffalo and Lackawanna are closed Thursday, as are suburban districts in the towns of Amherst, Tonawanda, Hamburg, Orchard Park, Lancaster, Cheektowaga and West Seneca.
The University at Buffalo's North and South campuses are closed, along with Erie Community College's campuses. Five other colleges in the Buffalo area have also called off classes.
Authorities say residents of a suburban Buffalo mobile home park are being evacuated after their roofs began to collapse under the weight of heavy snow.
Fire Commissioner Peter Spilsbury of the Seneca Hose Fire Co. says 15 to 20 people are being evacuated from their homes at the French Quarter Mobile Home Park in the town of West Seneca, just east of Buffalo.
One volunteer firefighter reportedly said crews had to rip a door off of one of the homes to free a trapped woman.
Amtrak says the Maple Leaf, between New York City and Toronto, and Trains 63 and 64 will be restored starting Thursday, with delays expected. Service was suspended Tuesday because of the heavy snowfall and travel bans were issued by local officials in Erie County, which has Amtrak stations in Buffalo and suburban Depew.
Other Amtrak service between Albany-Rensselaer and Buffalo or Cleveland remains temporarily suspended through Thursday afternoon. This includes Amtrak Empire Service and Lake Shore Limited trains scheduled through mid-day.
Amtrak service north, east and south of Albany continues to operate.
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