PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY! BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- A ferocious storm dumped massive piles of snow on parts of upstate New York, trapping residents in their homes and stranding motorists on roadways, as temperatures in all 50 states fell to freezing or below. Even hardened Buffalo residents were caught off-guard Tuesday as more than 5 feet fell in parts of the city by Wednesday morning. Authorities said snow totals by the afternoon could top 6 feet in the hardest-hit areas south of Buffalo, with another potential 1 to 2 feet expected by Thursday. Erie County officials said a 46-year-old man was discovered early Wednesday in his car, which was in a ditch and buried in snow in the town of Alden, 24 miles east of Buffalo. It was unclear how he died. On Tuesday, county officials said four people had died, including three from heart attacks and one who was pinned beneath a car he was trying to free from the snow. Two of the heart attack victims were believed to be stricken while shoveling snow. The storm was blamed for at least seven deaths in New York, New Hampshire and Michigan. We have tried to get out of our house, and we are lucky to be able to shovel so we can open the door, said Linda Oakley of Buffalo. Were just thinking that in case of an emergency we can at least get out the door. We cant go any further. The snowstorm forced motorists in 150 vehicles, including a womens basketball team, to ride out the onslaught in their vehicles. They waited for hours to be freed, with some waiting more than a day. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo deployed 150 members of the National Guard to help clear snow-clogged roads and remove abandoned vehicles. By early Wednesday, a Thruway official said most but not all passenger vehicles had been cleared. It seemed like a nightmare. It just didnt feel like it was going to end, Bryce Foreback, 23, of Shicora, Pennsylvania, told The Associated Press by cellphone 20 hours into his wait for help. I havent slept in like 30 hours and Im just waiting to get out of here. Foreback had become stuck in a long line of cars near the Lackawanna toll booths just south of Buffalo about 10:30 Monday night. The lake-effect snow created a stark divide: In downtown Buffalo and north of the city, there was a mere dusting of precipitation, while in the south parts, snow was everywhere. The snow band that brought the snow was very much evident throughout the day as gray clouds persistently hovered over the southern part of the city. The band was so apparent, that the wall of snow could be seen from a mile away. In a region accustomed to highway-choking snowstorms, this one is being called one of the worst in memory. Snow blown by strong winds forced the closing of a 132-mile stretch of the Thruway, the main highway across New York state.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 16:20:22 +0000
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