Winter storm Elliott – latest: Driving ban lifted in Buffalo as blizzard deaths hit 38
Buffalo region worst affected in US with at least 38 deaths after blizzard dumped 50 inches of snow on city
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Your support makes all the difference.One of the coldest Christmases in modern memory has left more than 60 people dead across the US, with 38 people killed in and around the city of Buffalo, which was hammered by over 50 inches of snow.
Nearly a week after the extreme blizzard, the driving ban in Buffalo was lifted on Thursday, although motorists have been advised to be careful around snow-removal equipment and at intersections.
“Hundreds of very large pieces of equipment will still be out clearing streets from curb-to-curb,” Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz warned in a tweet.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Poloncarz confirmed three additional deaths, marking the deadliest storm in western New York in at least two generations.
National Guard went door to door conducting welfare checks in neighbourhoods that lost electricity. As the city continues to dig out of the storm, the death toll is expected to climb further.
Beyond New York state, winter storm Elliott’s icy bite also saw temperatures plunge to record lows in parts of Montana, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming, and wrought havoc on Christmas travel plans.
Blizzard victim trapped in car sends final video to family
A 22-year-old woman has died in the historic Buffalo blizzard after she sent a chilling final video to her family on her way home from work.
Anndel Taylor was driving home on Friday afternoon when her car became stranded in the snow.
She remained trapped inside the car for around 18 hours while Winter Storm Elliot raged on all around her, her family said.
Rachel Sharp reports.
Buffalo woman, 22, dies in blizzard after sending final video to family
Anndel Taylor told her family members in a group chat that she was ‘scared’ as she was trapped in her car for around 18 hours
Watch: Whole Buffalo neighbourhood buried by blizzard
One more day of lake snow before the thaw
The National Weather Service in Buffalo tweets: “One more day of lake snows today with the majority of accumulation this morning. A pattern switch will occur rest of the week as temperatures rise above freezing. Warming with melting snow could result in minor flooding, depending on how much rain occurs this weekend.”
What to do if your flight is cancelled
Thousands of travelers were stranded at airports or stuck on hold trying to rebook flights this week as the massive storm snarled travel across the US and Canada.
Travel chaos continues with more than 2,800 more flights having already been canceled in the US as of 7am on Tuesday, according to the flight tracking service FlightAware. Problems are expected to continue at least into Wednesday.
The Associated Press spoke to travel experts to get the best advice about what to do if your flight is cancelled.
Buffalo officials give update on snowstorm
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown vowed to come down on looters “very aggressively” in a press conference on Tuesday morning.
“We will be focusing very aggressively on following up on the crime of looting during these conditions,” he said.
“During this natural disaster in the city of Buffalo and our goal will be to find as many individuals as possible who have been engaged in this crime.”
City of Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia says the recovery will be a “long slow process”.
Mayor Brown said they beliebed the “death toll will rise as we continue the search efforts and move snow mounds throughout the city”.
Driving ban remains in City of Buffalo
A travel ban remains in effect throughout the City of Buffalo. MNew York State police are set to enforce the ban and manage traffic control. People are asked to stay off the roads to allow road crews to do their jobs.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted: “The driving ban remains only for the City of Buffalo currently, however portions of Rt. 5 are still closed heading south through Lackawanna, Hamburg, etc.”
“100 military police and additional troopers from @nyspolice are coming into Buffalo for traffic control and ticketing. DO NOT try to drive in or into the City of Buffalo. The driving ban remains,” he adds.
“New Jersey State Police are being brought into parts of downstate to backfill the additional @nyspolice being diverted to Buffalo to keep people off the roads. Motorists are still getting stuck in Buffalo. The driving ban remains. Stay off the roads!”
Significant delays, but life-saving emergency services running in Buffalo
Department of Transportation concerned by Southwest’s cancellation rate
The Department of Transportation said on Twitter that it was “concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service.” The tweet said the department would look into whether Southwest could have done anything about the cancellations and whether the airline was complying with its customer service plan.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that the airline would operate just over a third of its usual schedule to allow crews to get back to where they needed to be.
“We had a tough day today. In all likelihood we’ll have another tough day tomorrow as we work our way out of this,” he said Monday evening. “This is the largest scale event that I’ve ever seen.”
AP
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