Buffalo lives a critical situation due to winter storm 1:15
(CNN) --
Dozens of Americans have died from a severe winter storm that brought freezing temperatures and crippling snowfall to the United States.
Officials in the Buffalo, New York area believe the staggering death toll will continue to grow in the area as teams continue search and rescue missions.
The nationwide death toll from the storm, which the state governor called the "most devastating in Buffalo's history," which has brought more than four feet of snow to some areas, rose to 49 Monday. of those deaths were counted only in Erie County, New York.
"Unfortunately, they are still recovering bodies," Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
Some of the victims died from exposure, and some deaths were due to natural causes, he said of people found dead recently.
“Stay home.
Don't go outside," the commissioner implored Buffalo residents.
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He said emergency services will go, and have gone, to homes without heat and take people to warm shelters.
Too many people, including residents who just got out to see the heavy snowfall, get out in their vehicles and get stuck and block rescue efforts, she said.
Here are some of the places where the most snow fell from the US winter storm.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted that 14 people in the county had died from exposure, three people were found in their vehicles, four had no heat, three died of cardiac events and three more people died after they emergency services will be delayed.
Poloncarz told CNN that unfortunately it looks like the numbers will go up.
“I am aware of additional bodies that have been recovered and are being taken to our temporary morgue,” he told The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.
"We've had so many bodies that several hospitals are full and we just have to review and determine if people have died from a blizzard-related death."
"It's just been a horrible, horrible situation," he added.
record snowfall
The deadly storm comes just a month after the region was hit by a historic snowstorm.
According to preliminary data, Buffalo has had the snowiest start to the season in history.
The National Weather Service office in Buffalo posted a tweet on Sunday indicating that Buffalo has received just over 7 feet of measurable snow from October through Christmas Day, which is the snowiest start to a season.
(A season is quantified as snowfall from July to June of the following year.)
According to Buffalo's daily weather report for December 26, they received another 16 inches of snow.
Now they are only a few centimeters away from reaching 2.5 meters of snow.
Buffalo remains under a winter weather advisory until 1 p.m. local time Tuesday, with up to 18 more inches of snow possible.
According to the most recent information from the authorities:
For December, we are currently in the fifth snowiest December on record with 1.4 meters of snow.
This is the December with the most snow since 2001, which is the one that, until now, had registered the most snow, with 2.1 meters.
Buffalo also had the second snowiest November on record with 93 centimeters of snow, which was surpassed only by November 2000, when nearly 1.2 meters of snow fell.
The previous record for the snowiest start to the season was the 2000-2001 season, where Buffalo saw 8 feet of snow through the end of December.
Report looting during winter storm in New York 0:41
snow will continue to fall
In a morning news conference, Poloncarz said officials expect 8 to 12 inches more snow to fall between Monday morning and 1 p.m. Tuesday.
“This is not helpful as we are trying to reclaim and clear streets and get into areas that haven't been plowed yet,” he said.
While driving bans have been lifted in some communities, one such order remains in effect in Buffalo, Poloncarz said, describing the city as "impassable in most areas," with abandoned vehicles strewn everywhere.
Even emergency and recovery vehicles sent to help have been stuck in the snow as rescue teams and hundreds of sweeper drivers fanned out over Christmas.
Eleven abandoned ambulances had to be dug out on Sunday, authorities said.
The deadly danger of the winter storm in the United States is not over yet 3:29
“We had to send specialized rescue teams to go find the rescuers,” Poloncarz told “CNN This Morning” on Monday.
He added that it was the worst storm he could remember.
“It was just horrible, and it was horrible for 24 hours straight,” he said.
“We are used to snow here, we can handle snow,” he said.
"But with the wind, the blinding views (it was complete blackouts) and the extreme cold, it was some of the worst conditions any of us have ever seen."
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Snow blankets downtown Buffalo, New York, on Monday, December 26, 2022, as shown in this photo from New York Governor Kathy Hochul's Twitter page. (Credit: Governor Kathy Hochul/Twitter/AP)
The storm has drawn widespread comparisons to the famous Buffalo blizzard of 1977. Poloncarz said at Monday's news conference that the current storm "was worse than the blizzard of '77."
The death toll in that storm was 23 people, 22 of whom died in Erie County.
And at a press conference on Sunday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul called this storm the "most devastating storm in Buffalo's long history."
On Monday, she asked President Joe Biden to issue federal emergency declarations for Erie and Genesee counties.
“I spoke to @GovKathyHochul for an update on the extreme winter weather hitting New York,” Biden tweeted.
“We stand ready to make sure they have the resources they need to get through this.
My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones this holiday weekend.
You are in my prayers and Jill's."
Hundreds of National Guard troops have been deployed to help with the rescue efforts in New York.
State police had been involved in more than 500 rescues as of Sunday, including delivering a baby, Hochul said.
As abandoned vehicles dot snow-covered roads, conditions are tough inside homes, too.
Winter storm leaves dozens dead in the United States: Biden approves the declaration of emergency for New York
Some residents have stayed in their homes for more than two days, some without power due to the cold, Hochul said Sunday, not because of a lack of resources, but because of the challenges utility companies face in terms of mobility and access.
However, as of Sunday night, 94.5% of Erie County residents and 87% of Buffalo residents have had power restored, Hochul said.
As of Monday, fewer than 10,000 customers were without power, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said at an evening news conference, adding that temperatures in his own home had dipped to 4 degrees Celsius.
“We certainly understand the challenges that so many families face and the frustration that people face,” Brown said.
Winter storm warnings remain in effect in New York for Jefferson and Lewis counties until 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Forecasts show an additional 3 to 16 inches of snow could fall, according to the National Weather Service.
Erie County could see another 4 to 8 inches and is under a winter weather advisory.
The deadly danger of the winter storm in the United States is not over yet 3:29
Winter storm causes deaths in several states
Over the past week, the prolonged winter storm has engulfed much of the country with dangerously low temperatures and icy winds, also causing widespread power outages and thousands of canceled flights.
About 25,700 customers lost power Monday night in New York and Maine, according to PowerOutage.US.
Since the start of the storm, the number of outages has sometimes exceeded one million customers.
Power wasn't the only utility affected: Jackson, Mississippi, issued a boil water advisory Sunday after its water system lost pressure due to broken lines "likely caused by the weather," officials said on Facebook.
The city, which just two months ago overcame a separate long-running water crisis, distributed water to residents on Christmas Day.
The storm also disrupted travel in the US over the busy holiday weekend, with more than 5,000 flights canceled on Friday, more than 3,400 flights canceled on Saturday and more than 3,100 canceled on Christmas Day.
About 3,800 flights to or from US airports were canceled as of 7 pm ET Monday, according to tracking site FlightAware.
The total includes more than 2,500 canceled flights by Southwest Airlines, according to FlightAware.
Southwest said in a statement: “With back-to-back days of extreme winter weather on our network behind us, the ongoing challenges are impacting our Customers and Employees in a significant way that is unacceptable.
"And our sincere apologies for this are just beginning."
Another 7,000 US flights have been delayed, according to FlightAware.
Separately, Buffalo Niagara International Airport, which closed Friday due to "hazardous weather conditions" and saw nearly 4 feet of snow, is expected to remain closed through Wednesday morning, the Niagara Border Transportation Authority said. On twitter.
The shutdown means the Buffalo Sabers' NHL game in Columbus will be postponed because the team can't fly to Ohio, Sabers officials said.
Snow covers a neighborhood, December 25, 2022, in Buffalo, New York. (Carolyn Thompson/AP)
Since the onset of brutal weather, multiple storm-related deaths have been reported in several states.
In addition to the deaths in New York, the fatalities include:
• Colorado:
Police in Colorado Springs reported two cold-related deaths since Thursday, with a man found near a building's power transformer possibly seeking heat, and another at an alley encampment.
• Kansas:
Three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Highway Patrol said Friday.
• Kentucky:
Three people have died in the state, authorities said, including one related to a car crash in Montgomery County.
• Missouri:
One person was killed after a trailer veered off an icy road and into an icy stream, Kansas City police said.
• Ohio:
Nine people have died as a result of weather-related car accidents, including four in a crash Saturday morning on Interstate 75 when a tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup truck, they said. The authorities.
• Tennessee:
The Health Department confirmed one storm-related death Friday.
• Wisconsin:
The State Patrol reported a fatal accident Thursday due to winter weather.
• Vermont:
A Castleton woman died after a tree fell on her home, according to the police chief.
What to expect as the storm moves away
A person clears snow-covered roads with a backhoe loader in Buffalo, New York, USA on December 26, 2022. (Credit: Faith Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
The powerful system is expected to move away from the northeast of the country, however, many cities and towns are still covered in thick snow.
In separate 24-hour periods, Baraga, Michigan received more than four feet of snow, while Henderson Harbor, New York received one meter of snow.
Meanwhile, lake-effect snowfall will continue to create hazardous travel conditions for the next few days and conditions are expected to slowly improve through the week.
Persistent lake-effect snow blowing downwind from the Great Lakes will slowly become less intense, but the arctic air that engulfs much of the eastern half of the nation will be slow to moderate, according to the National Weather Service. .
The low pressure system is forecast to move farther into Canada, while another system will quickly cross the northern US through Monday, bringing snow from the northern Plains to the Midwest.
Much of the rest of the eastern part of the country will remain frozen through Monday before a moderating trend sets in Tuesday, forecasters said.
-- Ross Levitt, DJ Judd, Laura Ly, Celina Tebor, Kevin Dotson, Robert Shackelford, Artemis Moshtaghian, Zenebou Sylla, Allison Flexner, Chris Boyette, Sharif Paget and CNN's Celina Tebor contributed to this report.
winter storm