Heavy snow keeps parts of the US in a deep freeze as holiday weekend comes to a close

Associated Press

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Heavy snowfall and numbing temperatures kept parts of the U.S. in a deep freeze Sunday as the Thanksgiving holiday weekend drew to a close. Some snowmobilers and skiers reveled in the wintry conditions, while flinty fans hunkered down for the nighttime NFL game in Buffalo.

In the remote Tug Hill region of upstate New York, where lake-effect snow off Lake Ontario can dump several feet of snow at a time, there was up to 46 inches (117 centimeters) in the Barnes Corners area.

“We just keep digging out,” said Kevin Tyo, a local businessman. “We were out all day yesterday, plowing.” Like many locals, he has a plow attached to his truck for winter, “and I have a tractor with a bucket, and a snowblower.”

His advice? “If you’re not used to it, stay home. If you’re out, slow down.”

Lake-effect snow is caused when warm, moist air is blown across a body of water and mixes with colder, drier air, creating narrow bands of often heavy snow on land. Pileups can be quick: The U.S. military’s Fort Drum, near hard-hit Watertown, New York, issued an alert saying up to 19 inches (48 centimeters) of daytime snow could fall Sunday.

Commercial vehicles remained banned in both directions of I-90 in western New York along a nearly 134-mile stretch to the Pennsylvania line.

Buffalo Bills kickoff set for Sunday night

In Buffalo, officials with the NFL’s Bills had sought stadium snow shovelers for the season, including ahead of Sunday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. The team said it would pay $20 per hour and provide food and hot drinks.

The lake-effect storm began hitting the area Saturday near the Bills’ stadium in Orchard Park, New York. Though the storm shifted south of the stadium by noon Sunday, snow continued to fall off and on through the day. Flurries began to fall more heavily just before kickoff. The game was played in chilly conditions with the game-time temperature at 27 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-3 Celsius), with the wind chill making it feel like 17 F (minus-8 C). The Bills often play in such conditions at home late in the season.

Tim LoTemple — a Bills season-ticket holder from Rochester, New York, and part of the team’s rabid fan base known as “Bills Mafia” — said the freezing temperatures and snow energize the players and fans. Still, the 49ers game was practically temperate compared to previous matchups at Highmark Stadium.

“We love snow over here. You know how Bills Mafia is, we love the cold,” he said from a parking lot tailgate party. “This is nothing compared to what we’ve seen before.”

But for Jake Dyer, an Indianapolis Colts fan visiting from Southern California, a cold-weather game is a rarity.

“Only thing I didn’t prepare for was shoes. I double up on everything else, but my feet are cold,” he said. “Mad respect for anybody who comes out. Anybody can sit at home, comfy in their chair to watch this game.”

Another one to two feet (about 30 to 60 centimeters) of snow were possible in western New York, and another two to three feet were possible in northern New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said Sunday.

Stuck in a car overnight with kids

Christine Schintzius set out Friday on clear roads with her 4- and 8-year-old sons and 12- and 15-year-old nieces from Wales, New York, southeast of Buffalo. They planned to attend a hockey tournament in Cleveland but instead found themselves snowbound for 19 hours inside a Honda Pilot.

They faced seemingly endless lines of stopped traffic, first on Interstate 90 near the New York-Pennsylvania border for nine hours, and again on Route 5 in Pennsylvania for 10 hours, until residents plowed them out.

“It was packed, there was tons of people, tons,” Schintzius said by phone Sunday.

While stuck on Route 5, Schintzius never turned off her car, afraid it wouldn’t start again in the cold. Two truckers checked on them during the night. In the morning the police checked in, along with a resident who walked the line of cars handing out muffins and making sure the stranded drivers had water.

“Thankfully, all of my kids, my nieces, all travel well,” said Schintzius, who had packed a cooler with lunch meats, snacks, yogurt and fruit. “And luckily I had still basically a full tank of gas.”

When they were finally free of the backup Saturday, Schintzius took a roundabout route home, avoiding the worst of the snow that was still falling.

“I was worried, like, I’m not getting stuck in that ever again,” she said.

New York, Pennsylvania declare emergencies

A blast of Arctic air last week brought bitter temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit below average to the Northern Plains, the National Weather Service said. Frigid air was expected to move over the eastern third of the U.S. by Monday, with temperatures about 10 degrees below average.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a disaster emergency proclamation Saturday and said parts of Erie County in the northwest received nearly 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow, with more expected through Monday night. Due to the snow emergency in the City of Erie, City Hall will be closed to the public on Monday and Tuesday.

Michigan is battered, too

Parts of Michigan were battered by lake-effect snow as bands rolling off Lake Superior buried parts of the Upper Peninsula under 2 feet (61 centimeters) or more, said Lily Chapman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

There were 27 inches (69 centimeters) of snow northeast of Ironwood, in the Upper Peninsula’s western reaches. Over a foot (30.5 centimeters) could fall over the eastern Upper Peninsula through Monday morning, Chapman said Saturday.

A light dusting of snow fell across eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, making a beautiful backdrop for Christmas decorations and good practice for road crews.

Over the next few days, lows in the Appalachians are expected to dip between 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-12 to -7 degrees Celsius).

___

Thompson reported from Buffalo, New York, and Anna from Lowville, New York. Ron Todt in Philadelphia, Sophia Tareen in Chicago, Susan Haigh in Norwich, Connecticut, John Wawrow in Orchard Park, New York, and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed.