Buffalo, N.C., During the New Year’s Snowstorms: A Loss for Ditjakilunga and a Family of Kids
At least 27 people have died as a result of the storm in New York’s Erie County – many of them in Buffalo, which was buried by up to 43 inches of snow and slammed with fierce blizzard conditions that made for blinding drives over the Christmas weekend.
A majority of the US population faced a winter weather advisory over the holiday weekend. Drastically low temperatures stretched from the Great Lakes to the Rio Grande.
A bomb cyclops, when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm, had developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions including heavy winds and snow.
The mayor of Buffalo said that the storm was “very devastating and difficult”, unlike anything the city has seen before.
It would be too far to get to the warming shelter. I can’t drive, obviously, because I’m stuck,” Manahan said. “And you can’t be outside for more than 10 minutes without getting frostbit.”
The Erie County executive, Mark Poloncarz, said the storm may be the worst on record and ambulances took more than three hours to take patients to the hospital.
Two people died when emergency crews could not get to their homes quickly enough to treat their medical problems, he said.
“We can’t just pick up everybody and take you to a warming center. We don’t have the capability of doing that,” Poloncarz said. “Many, many neighborhoods, especially in the city of Buffalo, are still impassable.”
The SUV of Ditjakilunga, who was on his way to visit relatives in Hamilton, Ontario for Christmas with his daughters, was trapped in Buffalo. Unable to get help, they spent hours with the engine running in the vehicle buffeted by wind and nearly buried in snow.
With fuel almost out, Ilunga made a desperate choice to go to a shelter and stay out of the storm. He carried 6-year-old Destiny on his back while 16-year-old Cindy clutched their Pomeranian puppy, stepping into his footprints as they trudged through drifts.
“If I stay in this car I’m going to die here with my kids,” he recalled thinking, but believing they had to try. He cried when the family walked through the shelter doors. “It’s something I will never forget in my life.”
Massive Flooding and Hurricanes in Buffalo, N.H., and Kentucky, during the First Day of December Snowstorms, and in Santa Barbara, Fla
Across the six New England states, more than 273,000 customers remained without power on Saturday, with Maine the hardest hit. Some utilities don’t have electricity for a long time.
The number of people still without heat and lights was 183,000 as of Monday morning, down from a peak of 1.7 million earlier in the week.
Storm-related deaths were reported in recent days all over the country: Four dead in an Ohio Turnpike pileup involving some 50 vehicles; four motorists killed in separate crashes in Missouri and Kansas; an Ohio utility worker electrocuted; a Vermont woman struck by a falling branch; an apparently homeless man found amid Colorado’s subzero temperatures; a woman who fell through Wisconsin river ice.
In Mexico, migrants camped near the U.S. border were facing unusually cold temperatures as they awaited a U.S. Supreme Court decision on pandemic-era restrictions preventing many from seeking asylum.
Along Interstate 71 in Kentucky, Terry Henderson and her husband, Rick, weathered a 34-hour traffic jam in a rig outfitted with a diesel heater, a toilet and a refrigerator after getting stuck trying to drive from Alabama to their Ohio home for Christmas.
The start of the winter season in Buffalo has been the snowiest on record, receiving 90.7 inches of snow from October to Christmas Day. It was just a month ago that the region was hit by a historic snowstorm. The city hit 100 inches on Monday after another 6.3 inches fell.
More than 60 to 70 people, including stranded travelers and locals without power or heat, have been in the church since Saturday night when the power was out, according to the Robinsons.
Many people arrived with their clothes and skin covered in ice and snow. On Saturday night, they prepared to spend Christmas together.
“It’s emotional just to see the hurt that they thought they were not going to make it, and to see that we had opened up the church, and it gave them a sense of relief,” Robinson said. “Those who are here are really enjoying themselves. It’s going to be a different Christmas for everyone.”
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown: “It’s been a long time coming, but I know it wasn’t going to stop”
A blast of polar air from Canada has ruined holiday travel plans as it wreaks havoc across the country, leaving power out, canceled flights and dangerous roads.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told NPR’s Morning Edition that his city’s emergency responders have gone “car by car” to perform hundreds of rescues of stranded motorists.
“This is a once-in-a-generation storm,” Brown said. It’s very different than anything the city of Buffalo has experienced before.
“That number is now below 10,000, and we will continue to work aggressively and strategically with National Grid all day today to continue to reduce that number and get everyone’s power restored,” he added, referring to the local utility.
The weather service expects the temperature to remain cold on Monday and start to rise on Tuesday, but then begin to improve as the week progresses.
The storm snarled travel in the US during the busy holiday weekend, with more than 5,000 flights canceled Friday, more than 3,400 flights canceled Saturday and more than 3,100 canceled on Christmas.
The NWS still advises caution for anyone looking to venture outside: High wind speeds and low temperatures are a recipe for frostbite, which can take root in less than 10 minutes of exposure.
Hundreds of vehicles were abandoned in Buffalo as the storm raged, according to Steven Nigrelli of New York State Police. He said authorities were going door to door and car to car to check for people.
As crews continue to dig out vehicles drowning in snow-covered roads and highways, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul stressed the importance of abiding by local and state driving bans in place in Western New York. Buffalo, Lackawanna and Cheektowaga all remain under driving bans during the overnight hours.
Of the 27 deaths reported in Erie County, three were attributed to an EMS Delay, while others involved people who were outside, in cars, had no heating or suffered cardiac arrest – and the death toll is still expected to rise, officials have said.
New York City Receives 42.8 inches of Snow over a Three-Day Breakup Over Two Days and the State’s Longest Snow Reservoir
It’s not easy getting the lights back on as utility crews face dangerous weather conditions and it makes access to the substations difficult.
Many cities and towns remain covered with thick snow. Over separate 24-hour spans, Baraga, Michigan, received 42.8 inches of snow while Henderson Harbor, New York, got 40.8 inches.
The Colorado Springs police said that there were two deaths related to the cold in the city since Thursday, with one man found near a power transformer and another in an alleyway.
The Buffalo area and other counties in New York are still covered by winter weather advisories despite the fact that most winter storm warnings have been lifted.
Hochul said Monday that the state has stockpiled ready-to-eat meals and “thousands” are ready to be distributed to food banks but noted that road conditions are paralyzing aid efforts.
“We have a responsibility to have all these resources on hand. But, when mother nature literally shuts down and creates a wall that you cannot see past, it is not safe, for not just emergency vehicles, but the trucks that are bringing groceries to the stores and the stores are being shutdown anyhow – that is the paralysis we’re experiencing,” Hochul said.
President Biden approved an emergency disaster declaration for the state on Monday night, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency was allowed to support local disaster relief efforts.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz called the city of Buffalo “impassable,” detailing numerous abandoned cars scattered across roads in all directions.
“We have gigantic dump trucks that are trying to scoop up the snow … and at the same time they are trying to remove abandoned vehicles, people are trying to drive around it in little Honda Civics,” he said.
While Tuesday’s forecast looks like nothing compared to the 4 feet of snow that fell in some places over last few days, officials say it will have an effect as responders work to clear streets.
New York governor Kathy Hochul described the weather system that brought 49 inches of snow over a three day period as one for the ages.
A Comment on Recent Transportation Measurements in the U.S. Department of Transportation (T.V.T.D., Washington, DC)
The United States Department of transportation said the cancellation, delays and customer service response were unacceptable, and would examine whether the disruptions were controllable.