SKIP TO CONTENTSKIP TO SITE INDEX27 Dead in ‘Once in a Generation’ Blizzard in Western New York

Thousands remain without power in the Buffalo region, where there is as much as 49 inches of snow on the ground, with more still falling.

Give this article

Joe McDonnell shoveling snow in front of his house in Buffalo. The powerful storm that struck the area left 27 dead as of Monday morning.Credit...Jalen Wright for The New York Times

By Michael Gold and Mihir Zaveri

Dec. 26, 2022Updated 3:54 p.m. ET

Four days after snow started falling, the Buffalo area remained crippled on Monday by a devastating blizzard that left at least 27 dead and that officials said was the worst winter storm in more than 50 years.

With many roads in western New York remaining impassable, thousands still without power and as much as a foot of snow expected to continue falling through the day on Monday, officials in Erie County, which includes Buffalo, said they expected the death toll could rise.

“This has been a very difficult and dangerous storm,” Buffalo’s mayor, Byron Brown, said at a news conference on Monday. “It’s been described as a once-in-a-generation storm. And everything that has been forecast, we have gotten in the city of Buffalo, and then some.”

As the storm and its effects lingered, some residents started to emerge from their homes, saying they were running short on food and other essential supplies. Mr. Brown said some residents and businesses had been without power since Friday.

A driving ban remained in place in Buffalo, a city of around 270,000 people, and many of its immediate suburbs as the authorities pleaded with residents to remain home. Officials said that many of the city’s streets had yet to be plowed, with the early focus on clearing paths for ambulances, police and rescue vehicles and medical workers.

Complicating efforts, Gov. Kathy Hochul said, were “scores and scores of vehicles” that had been abandoned in ditches and snowbanks during the storm and had yet to be removed. In some cases, she said, snowplows and rescue vehicles had been trapped.

Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, said she had asked the White House for a federal disaster declaration. President Biden said on Twitter that he had spoken with Ms. Hochul and would “make sure” the state had needed resources.

Mark C. Poloncarz, the Erie County executive, said the authorities had identified 12 more deaths since Sunday that they had linked to the storm. The deaths included people found trapped in their cars and those who had “cardiac-related events” while removing snow from outside homes and businesses.

Image