Death tolls in New York continue to rise due to a historic winter storm impacting the area.
This winter storm brought arctic conditions to Western New York, leaving over 100,000 people without power and disrupting travel across the region. This same storm system brought arctic temperatures to Texas resulting in hard freezes, marginal snow, flight cancellations, and delays, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide state of emergency on Thursday ahead of the storm. This announcement included travel bans and road closures.
This storm brought massive amounts of snow to the state, forcing emergency crews to remove entire walls of snow from major roads.
The National Weather Service in New York recorded temperatures dropping into the low 20s with wind chills in the teens. Christmas Eve saw temperatures drop to 15 degrees in Central Park, making it the second coldest December 24 since 1869. The first was 13 degrees in 1872.
Three consecutive days of snowfall in Western New York saw over 4 feet of snow accumulate and create huge drifts when blown by hurricane-force wind gusts. It is the worst weather event seen in the area since the record-breaking Blizzard of 1977, which saw 6 feet of snowfall.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted that the current weather phenomenon was a “once-in-a-generation storm.”
Poloncarz announced on Monday that a total of 27 storm-related deaths had occurred. Reportedly, three of these were due to EMS delay, 14 were found outside, three from snow shoveling/blowing cardiac events, four from loss of heat, and three were in a vehicle.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown tweeted that numbers were expected to continue to rise, reiterating that a travel and driving ban remains in effect for the city.
Hochul submitted a request for a declaration of a federal emergency to President Joe Biden for Erie and Genesee Counties on December 26 as the storm continued to yield disastrous effects for the state.
Hochul also deployed an additional 220 National Guard soldiers to the Western New York region, bringing the total of deployments to approximately 430.
“I have spoken to President Biden who has agreed to swiftly approve our Federal Emergency Declaration, which will be crucial to assist our recovery efforts from this historic storm,” said Hochul in the request.
President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in New York due to the severe weather conditions on Monday. The president’s authorization allows the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all taxpayer-funded disaster relief efforts.
“We stand ready to make sure they have the resources they need to get through this,” said Biden in a tweet.
Poloncarz urged citizens to remain off the roads in Buffalo to make way for emergency personnel.