National

Photos: See the aftermath of massive snowfall in the Buffalo area

By Don Clyde, Nicole Werbeck

Published November 20, 2022 at 6:15 AM PST

This story was published more than 2 years ago.

Heather Ahmed digs out after an intense lake-effect snowstorm impacted the Buffalo, New York, area on Saturday.

Residents in western New York are digging out after a massive winter storm passed though the region, dropping more than 6 feet of snow in some areas.

The city of Buffalo set a record for daily snowfall, with 16.1 inches by Saturday morning. The previous record was 7.6 inches.

The National Weather Service tweeted Sunday morning that the "heavy snow is (finally) done in the Buffalo metro area, but there will be areas of blowing snow today." NPR member station WBFO reports some winter weather advisories remain in place until 10 p.m. ET.

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The NWS said the heaviest lake-effect snows will come off of Lake Ontario into Sunday night, with some snowfall rates of 3 inches per hour.

Abandoned trucks block lanes along Route 20 after an intense lake-effect snowstorm impacted the area on Saturday in Hamburg, New York.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday called the storm "one for the record books." She said the state would submit an emergency declaration request to get support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

There were 88 automobile crashes reported as of Saturday afternoon, and only 280 people who needed rescue because most had complied with travel bans put in place, Hochul said.

A National Guard loader clears a road after an intense lake-effect snowstorm impacted the area on Saturday in Hamburg, New York.

She also thanked everyone who "rolled up their sleeves" to help out, calling Western New Yorkers resilient.

Hochul said that because of effective planning, "we were able to avert many tragedies."

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"This was your Super Bowl and I want to tell you, you won," she said.

Denis Marszalkowski uses a snowblower to dig out after an intense lake-effect snowstorm hit Western New York.

The area's last major snowfall took place eight years ago, when another lake-effect storm dropped more than five feet of snow.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz led an effort to correct what he says went wrong in that 2014 storm, when road-clearing efforts were stalled by abandoned cars. He said the travel bans put in place this time made cleanup easier.

"Here we are, just 48 hours really since the snow started, with the largest snowfall ever recorded in New York State history in a 24-hour period, and we're lifting travel bans as of midnight, and we're looking very good to hopefully be able to lift some more travel bans by the end of tomorrow," Poloncarz said Saturday evening.

Here is what it looks around Buffalo and parts of western New York after the massive snow storm hit.