A heavy blizzard paralyzed parts of the US state of New York just before Thanksgiving and claimed several lives. According to the National Weather Service, about two meters of snow fell in the town of Orchard Park, south of Buffalo, on Sunday morning (local time). Up to six inches of snow fell at times in some places, the New York Times reported.
According to initial estimates, a new record could have been broken for the most snowfall in 24 hours. “Something like this has never happened before,” said Kathy Hochul at a press conference held on Saturday afternoon (local time). The governor of New York had already declared a state of emergency in some regions on Thursday. On Saturday, Hochul petitioned US President Joe Biden for federal assistance to provide additional support to affected communities.
The storm led to road closures, driving bans and dozens of flight cancellations at Buffalo International Airport, according to CNN. The American Football League NFL moved a game between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns to Detroit on short notice.
Two people died of heart problems while shoveling snow in Erie County, county commissioner Mark Poloncarz wrote on Twitter. In addition to New York, officials and weather experts also warned of the particularly dangerous storm in the US states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In Indiana, west of New York, the driver of a snow plow was in a fatal accident on Friday.
One reason for the onset of winter is the “Lake Effect”. Extremely cold air sweeps across the Great Lakes in the northern US, whose waters are considerably warmer. Moisture rises, is carried by the air current, and then falls in narrow bands of precipitation onto land on the southeastern side of the lakes.
According to the forecast, the blizzard should weaken at the beginning of the week. Next Thursday is Thanksgiving, the American harvest festival. Along with Christmas, the holiday is one of the most important family celebrations in the US – travel volume is particularly high at this time. (apa)