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Deadly New York Snow Storm Rivals Historic 1977 Blizzard, Experts Say

The U.S. has spent the last week enduring dangerous winter weather conditions. Snow and frigid temperatures most recently impacted holiday travel plans, wreaking havoc on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. However, regions of New York, in particular, were most heavily slammed with a historic snow storm over the weekend. In fact, the storm was so devastating that—so far—resulted in several dozen deaths. Experts also state that it already rivals the historic 1977 New York blizzard.

USA Today states that some regions across NY saw a walloping 3.5 feet of snow last week. Frigid Arctic air severely dropped temperatures and resulted in 48 deaths across the nation. Of those 48 deaths, 27 occurred in western NY. Officials expect further deaths on Monday as relentless cold and hazardous road conditions trap people in their homes without heat.

Buffalo was one of the worst-struck cities this weekend. Wind and snow created the worst blizzard the city has seen in four decades. The news outlet states that while the 1977 snowstorm did not bring nearly as much snow as Buffalo’s seen this past weekend—just 12 inches total—the storm came with deadly cold temperatures that impacted the region for weeks. Wind gusts were equally dangerous this past weekend as they were 40 years ago when they buried homes across the city in snow and resulted in 29 deaths in four days. Of those that killed during New York’s 1977 snow storm, 12 were found frozen in stranded vehicles.

In just the last few days, Buffalo saw hurricane-force winds that brought white-out conditions to the region, severely dropping visibility. The storm became so intense that even emergency response vehicles became stranded on roads and highways.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz spoke out about the severity of the blizzard on Monday. He said, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime, generational blizzard. And this is not the end yet.”

Weather Experts Predicting Further Snow for New York Amid Already Historic Storm

Although the National Weather Service predicts temperatures will finally begin to rise later this week, NY, not to mention New England and much of the East Coast, will remain in a “deep freeze” through Tuesday. That said, New Yorkers should expect to see further snow later in the week as lake-effect snow promises to drop another 12 inches in certain areas.

In a Twitter post, NWS Buffalo wrote, “Lake effect snow will continue through Tuesday northeast of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Additional accumulations of 6 to 12 inches are expected off Lake Erie in and around Buffalo, and 1 to 2 feet for Jefferson and northern Lewis counties.”

Despite the severity of the New York snow storm over Christmas, residents are hopeful for some relief. And AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines hopes Mother Nature is able to provide that for him. Looking at weather conditions and temperatures later in the week, he said, “The trend is going to be for warmer weather for the upcoming week. In fact, Buffalo could easily get up in the 40s at some point during the second half of the week.”