Victoria E. Freile

@vfreile

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo arrived to western New York Wednesday afternoon to give a briefing on the severe lake effect storm that buried communities near Buffalo in more than five feet of snow, crippled area roadways and claimed at least six lives.

"We're planning a four, five-day workload," Cuomo said. "This is an extraordinarily difficult situation."

Cuomo already had declared a state of emergency for much of western New York, including Erie, Genesee and Wyoming counties.



Heavy snow and white-out conditions closed a 133-mile stretch of the New York state Thruway, which remained closed for the second straight day as authorities continued to rescue motorists stranded on a Buffalo-area section of the highway. The highest storm total of 65 inches - nearly 5 1/2 feet - was recorded in the Erie County town of Cheektowaga.

Cuomo was questioned Wednesday about the Thruway closure, and said some people violated it, leading to cars getting stuck. He said it was shut down at an appropriate time, but there was no "perfect situation here." He said he believed all passenger cars have been cleared off the Thruway, but there are still some trucks out there.

The localized storm, though, left other parts of the Buffalo region with just a dusting. only 6.2 inches fell at the airport, where the National Weather Service's official tally is recorded. The region is supposed to get more snow tonight, Thursday and Friday.

"In some ways it's going to get worse before it gets better," Cuomo said. "We have further complications ahead."

ROAD CLOSURES

For the second straight day, Interstate 90 remains closed in both directions between Henrietta (Exit 46) and the Pennsylvania border. There's no word yet from the Thruway Authority or State Police on when that stretch of the Thruway will reopen.

Cuomo said the state activated 526 plows, 74 large loaders, nearly 1,250 operators, 17 large snow blowers, 4 truck-mounted snow blowers to clear the massive snow piles from area highways and roadways.

Many roads in and around Buffalo are still closed to traffic, along with major highways as Interstate 190 and Route 219 and 400 outside the city. Travel bans remain in effect for much of the Buffalo area south and east of the city and police will ticket any motorists venturing out in ban areas.

Erie County officials have moved some abandoned, snow-covered cars - and plan to move more - but warned drivers not to go looking for stranded vehicles.

Closer to Rochester, parts of Genesee County were pummeled with as much as three feet of snow, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo. Travel bans in five Genesee County towns were lifted Wednesday morning, and the last, limited travel ban in Darien was lifted by early afternoon.

MORE SNOW COMING

A second powerful bout of lake effect snow is expected Wednesday night, Thursday into Friday morning, likely striking the same area to some extent. "Well over a foot" of additional snow could fall in that event, Weather Service forecasters said Wednesday.

The Weather Service issued a lake effect snow warning from 11 p.m. Wednesday and 1 a.m. Friday in Erie, Genesee and Wyoming counties, with similar warnings issued for several counties south of Buffalo. At least two more feet of snow could fall - on top of the snow already covering the ground, forecasters said.

Whipping winds again are expected to make travel difficult during the storm, with expected sustained winds up to 30 mph and gusts around 40 mph.



6 DEATHS AND A MEMORABLE BIRTH



Six confirmed deaths have been directly related to the storm, authorities said. But one little girl was born during the brunt of the storm Tuesday at a Buffalo fire station. Impassable roads initially sent the expectant mother to the fire house instead of the nearby hospital. Two stranded motorists - who happened to be nurses - delivered the baby. Mom and baby were later taken to the hospital.

The most recent fatalities were announced Wednesday morning. Officials say one victim was a 46-year-old man from Alden found buried in his car. Details on the other death, which occurred in Batavia, Genesee County, were not immediately available.

One of the deaths involved a freak accident in Cheektowaga. The others were caused by cardiac issues from shoveling snow.

Cheektowaga Police say that a high lift was assisting two men stuck in their vehicle at Union Road and French Road. When the vehicle gained traction and backed up, it pinned one of the men between the high lift and vehicle. They tried CPR, but the 30-year-old from Pennsylvania was killed.

Crews say there is so much snow in some areas it's like "plowing a brick wall," and in many situations officials have been walking car to car to try rescuing individuals. Authorities are asking people who are stuck in vehicles to remain in their vehicles until they are rescued.

Some areas will get a whole year's worth of snowfall in just three days.

VFREILE@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/vfreile



Includes reporting by The Associated Press, Joseph Spector and WGRZ