By 
NEW YORK: On Christmas Day, a deadly snowstorm immobilized Buffalo, New York, leaving thousands of households without electricity and increasing the death toll from storms that had been chilling much of the country for days. It also trapped motorists and rescue personnel inside their cars.
According to an NBC News count, at least 30 people have perished in weather-related accidents throughout the United States since a deep chill swept most of the country on Friday, along with snow, ice, and strong winds from a massive storm that roared out of the Great Lakes area.
As biting cold and heavy “lake-effect” snow lingered into the holiday weekend, most of the fatalities were concentrated in and around Buffalo, which is located on the western tip of Lake Erie in western New York. This snow is caused by cold air passing over warmer lake waters.
According to Mark Poloncarz, the executive of Erie County, the number of storm-related fatalities rose to 13 on Sunday from the three that had been recorded overnight in the Buffalo area. According to Poloncarz, the newest casualties included those discovered in automobiles and others in snow banks. He also predicted that there will likely be more fatalities.
Poloncarz stated on Twitter on Sunday that “none of us expected or hoped for this Christmas.” “I offer the families of those who have lost loved ones my sincere sympathies.”
The deadliest winter storm to hit the greater Buffalo region since a severe snowstorm in 1977 that killed almost 30 people, according to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, was described as an “epic, once-in-a-lifetime” weather calamity.
Hochul stated at a press conference that evening that “we have already surpassed the size of the storm, in its severity, the endurance, and the fury of its winds,” adding that the current storm will certainly be remembered as “the blizzard of ’22.”
