Brian
If you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably seen the insane Christmas blizzard that hit Buffalo, New York.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called it “the blizzard of the century,” part of a larger cold wave across the country that has killed at least 52 people.
Lots of people posted pictures of the blizzard’s aftermath on social media.
It’s been particularly bad in Buffalo, which has been buried in snow. In the western part of New York state, there have been 28 deaths related to the weather.
Hochul said that going to Buffalo “is [like] going to a war zone, and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking.”
One family was trapped in their car had to wait for 11 hours before being rescued early Christmas Day.
The severe weather is part of a “bomb cyclone” winter storm. That happens when atmospheric pressure drops, causing heavy snow and winds.
There were also storm deaths reported in Vermont, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Colorado.
In South Florida, the temperatures dropped so low that iguanas froze and fell from trees.
The coldest weather was in the western part of Montana, where temperatures dropped to -50 degrees. In that kind of temperature, water freezes very quickly.
In Buffalo, the Christmas blizzard dropped six feet of snow in some areas. Houses, cars, and buildings were almost completely covered.
To give some perspective, people took photos of themselves next to towering piles of snow.
Outside one news station in Buffalo, the conditions were extremely windy and snowy. It was almost a total white-out.
Some people had snow completely covering their front doors.
Others in Buffalo had snow coming up to their windows.
Rescue workers were having trouble in the conditions, too. This video from a fire truck really showed how low visibility was in the blizzard.
Needless to say, everyone was encouraged to stay off the roads. Some said the Christmas blizzard ranked up there with an infamous storm that tore through Buffalo in 1977.
On Tuesday, Buffalo braced for even more snow as the blizzard continued. The National Weather Service predicted that 2 more inches of snow could fall in Erie County, where Buffalo is.
County Executive Mark Poloncarz called the blizzard “the worst storm probably in our lifetime.”
