Snow blankets a neighbourhood in Cheektowaga, New York
WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 200,000 Americans woke up without power on Christmas morning as a days-long winter megastorm that hammered several eastern US states Sunday left more than 20 people dead.
The extreme weather, a mix of prolonged blizzards and historic cold, plunged wind chill temperatures in all 48 contiguous US states below freezing this weekend, stranded holiday travelers with thousands of flights cancelled
and trapped residents in ice- and snow-encrusted homes.
Thirty-one weather-related deaths have been confirmed across eight states, including at least seven fatalities in western New York, where ferocious snows, relentless winds and deep freezes have plunged Buffalo and surrounding towns into crisis.
While large swathes of the country have begun shovelling out from the massive storm and temperatures in some locations were returning to seasonal normality, Buffalo remained in the grips of “a major disaster,” with emergency
responders unable to reach several high-impact areas, a senior official said.
“We do have seven confirmed deaths at this point as a result of the storm in Erie County. There may be more,” county executive Mark Poloncarz told reporters.
He described ferocious conditions, with hours-long whiteouts and bodies discovered in cars and under snow banks in a region where Governor Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard to help with rescues.
“It was as bad as anyone has ever seen it,” Poloncarz said. — NNN-AGENCIES
