Millions of people in the United States were sheltering Sunday from the freezing cold caused by a winter storm that has killed at least 29 people in various parts of the country, locked many in their snow-shrouded homes and knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
The magnitude of the storm is almost unprecedented, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the border with Mexico. About 60% of the nation’s population was under some type of weather advisory and temperatures were well below normal from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, the National Weather Service said.
Some 1,700 domestic and international flights had been canceled as of 2 p.m. Eastern time, according to the FlightAware website.
Experts noted that explosive cyclogenesis—in which atmospheric pressure drops very rapidly during a storm—had occurred near the Great Lakes, where it triggered snow blizzards and gales.
The storm unleashed its full fury in Buffalo, where hurricane-force winds and heavy snow crippled emergency services. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said nearly all of the city’s fire trucks were snowbound Saturday, and officials said the airport would remain closed until Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service said snowpack at Buffalo-Niagara Airport totaled 43 inches (109 centimeters) as of 7 am Sunday.
Daylight revealed cars covered in almost 2 meters (6 feet) of snow and thousands of houses in the dark due to lack of electricity. As snow piled up on impassable roads, forecasters warned of the possibility of 1-2 feet (30-60 centimeters) more snow falling in some areas through Monday morning amid 40-mile gusts of wind /h (40 mph).
Two people died at their homes in Cheektowaga, New York state, because medical personnel failed to arrive in time to treat their health problems, and another person died in Buffalo. Four more deaths were confirmed overnight, bringing the total in Erie County to seven. County Administrator Mark Poloncarz warned that the death toll could rise.
“Some people were found in their vehicles, some were found in snowbanks on the street,” Poloncarz said. “We know that there are people who have been stranded in their vehicles for more than two days.”
Heavy snow, cold weather and power outages the day before prompted some Buffalo residents to leave their homes Saturday for anywhere with heat. But with city streets covered in a thick layer of white, that wasn’t an option for the likes of Jeremy Manahan, charging his cell phone battery in his parked car after nearly 29 hours without power.
“There is a shelter to keep warm, but it is too far for me to get there. Obviously I can’t drive, because I’m stuck,” Manahan said. “And you can’t be out for more than 10 minutes without getting frostbite symptoms.”
Ditjak Ilunga, from Gaithersburg, Maryland, was traveling with his daughters to visit relatives for Christmas in Hamilton, Ontario, when their truck got stuck in Buffalo. Unable to get help, they spent hours with the engine running in the wind-swept, snow-covered vehicle.
By 4 in the morning on Saturday and with almost no fuel left, Ilunga made the desperate decision to brave the harsh storm to reach a nearby shelter. He carried Destiny, 6, on her back, while Cindy, 16, hugged her puppy and stepped in her footprints in the snow.
“If I stay in this car, I’m going to die here with my daughters,” she recalled thinking, saying she thought they should try. She cried as the family walked through the shelter doors. “It is something that I will never forget in my life.”
The storm left towns without power from Maine to Seattle. But gradually electricity and heating were restored in different parts. In North Carolina, fewer than 6,500 customers were without power, a drastic drop from the peak of 485,000.
In New England, fewer than 83,000 people were still without power, the majority in Maine. In New York, some 34,000 homes were still without power Sunday, including 26,000 in Erie County.
In recent days, deaths associated with the storm have been reported across the country: seven in Erie County and another in Niagara County, New York; 10 in Ohio, including a power company employee who was electrocuted and victims of various traffic accidents; six drivers in various traffic accidents in Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky; a woman in Vermont who was hit by a tree branch; an apparently homeless man found in freezing Colorado temperatures; and a woman who fell through the ice on a river in Wisconsin.
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