Key points
- The Buffalo storm is "a crisis of epic proportion" said New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
- More than 150,000 US homes and businesses were without power on Sunday.
- The blizzard was a result of a powerful winter weather system that has caused frigid temperatures since mid-last week.
A deadly blizzard pummeled Buffalo, New York, on Christmas Day, trapping people in their cars, causing power outages and raising the death toll from a severe winter storm system that has swept the United States.
At least 37 people have died in weather-related incidents across the country.
Rescuers at the scene of a multi-vehicle crash in which four people died and left multiple people injured on the Ohio Turnpike in Erie County, Ohio, on 23 December 2022. Source: AAP / EPA
The Buffalo storm is "a crisis of epic proportion" and "the worst of the worst," said New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a native of Buffalo, where eight-foot snow drifts against front doors and power outages in freezing temperatures have made for life-threatening conditions.
Weather forecasters used the term "bomb cyclone" to describe the extreme temperatures. They form when air near Earth’s surface rises quickly in the atmosphere, leading to a swift drop in barometric pressure of at least 24 millibars within 24 hours.
Power cuts and cancelled flights
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the death toll from the storm had risen from three to seven overnight in the Buffalo region in far western New York, where snow on Sunday brought total accumulation to nearly four feet.
Some of the four reported dead on Sunday morning were found in cars and some in snow banks, Mr Poloncarz said, adding that the death count might still rise.
"This is not the Christmas any of us hoped for nor expected, but try to have as merry a Christmas as possible today," Mr Poloncarz said on Twitter on Sunday. "My deepest condolences to the families who have lost loved ones.
Christina Klaffka, a 39-year-old North Buffalo resident, said cars were trapped under 5-foot snow drifts in her neighbourhood with more snow still forecast for Sunday night.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters on Sunday that she had been in touch with the White House and that the Biden administration would support the state's request for a federal disaster declaration.
"This will go down in history as Buffalo's most devastating storm. This one is for the ages and we're still in the middle of it," Ms Hochul said.
The blizzard was a result of a powerful winter weather system that has caused frigid temperatures from the Northern Great Plains to the US-Mexico border since mid-last week.
The storm was moving east on Sunday, after knocking out power to millions late last week and causing flight cancellations during the busy holiday travel period.
More than 150,000 US homes and businesses were without power on Sunday, a sharp drop from the 1.8 million that were powerless as of early Saturday, according to PowerOutage.us.
In Buffalo, 16 per cent of residents had no electricity on Sunday, officials said.
Two days of white-out conditions in western New York had made rescue efforts nearly impossible at times, officials said.
A National Guard team dispatched from Niagara Falls to help in Buffalo got stuck on Friday trying to reach equipment at the Buffalo Armory.
The fountain is frozen as temperatures hovered in the mid 20's at Jacob Schoen & Son Funeral Home in New Orleans on Saturday, 24 December 2022. Source: AAP / AP
More than 1,600 flights in the United States were cancelled as of midday on Sunday, according to flight tracker FlightAware, as weather further snarled holiday travel.
Christmas morning temperatures were still well below average across the central and eastern US, and below freezing even as far south as the Gulf Coast, National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Rich Otto said.
Driving ban in place
In Erie County, hundreds of motorists were stranded in their vehicles over the weekend, with the National Guard called in to help with rescues, Mr Poloncarz said.
A countywide driving ban remained in effect on Sunday.
The severe weather prompted authorities across the country to open warming centres in libraries and police stations while scrambling to expand temporary shelter for the homeless.
The challenge was compounded by an influx of migrants crossing the US southern border by the thousands in recent weeks.
The NWS said its map of existing or impending meteorological hazards "depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever".
