Western New York is forecast to get even more snow after more than 5 feet falls - NPR

Tom Dee uses a shovel to excavation retired aft an aggravated water effect snowstorm impacted the country connected Friday successful Hamburg, N.Y. John Normile/Getty Images hide caption

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John Normile/Getty Images

Tom Dee uses a shovel to excavation retired aft an aggravated water effect snowstorm impacted the country connected Friday successful Hamburg, N.Y.

John Normile/Getty Images

Residents successful occidental New York tin expect adjacent much snowfall Saturday aft a large wintertime tempest walloped the portion Friday, dropping much than 5 feet successful immoderate areas and shutting down schools and businesses.

At slightest 2 radical died from cardiac apprehension portion shoveling snow.

National Weather Service Buffalo Office meteorologist Liz Jurkowski said immoderate places could get deed with different ft oregon 2 into Saturday.

"Things should commencement to lighten up a bit," Jurkowski told NPR. "You should beryllium capable to get extracurricular and commencement clearing retired immoderate of that snow, and you'll aftermath up to a mates much inches Sunday morning."

The NWS said snowfall could beryllium dense astatine times successful Buffalo connected Saturday done precocious afternoon, with upwind gusts up to 36 mph. The agency besides said a lake-effect snowfall informing volition stay successful effect until 1 p.m. ET connected Sunday successful Northern Erie and Genesee counties, saying that question could beryllium "very hard to impossible."

Buffalo set a record for regular snowfall connected Saturday, accumulating 16.1 inches by astir 9:30 a.m.

The weather bureau reported immoderate towns successful Erie County had received much than 5 feet of snowfall connected Friday. Further northbound successful the state, immoderate parts of Jefferson County got astir 50 inches connected Friday.

In Hamburg, southbound of Buffalo, exigency crews struggled to scope radical connected Friday, WBFO's Emyle Watkins told NPR. Other towns successful the country had not been deed astir arsenic badly, with immoderate areas northbound of Buffalo getting conscionable inches of snow.

Crews were moving astir the timepiece to wide the the wet, dense snowfall that was falling astatine a faster complaint than normal.

John Pilato, the road superintendent for the municipality of Lancaster, said he's trying to support his snowfall crews fed and rested portion they campy retired astatine the road department.

"Bought arsenic overmuch nutrient and grub that we could conscionable to person connected manus for these guys. We bought a clump of K-cups truthful we could support them a small spot caffeinated and fueled up," Pilato told Watkins. "It's hard, it's precise hard. They're not successful their ain bed, they're successful a chair, oregon they're successful a cot."

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul connected Thursday declared a authorities of exigency that covered 11 counties successful the occidental portion of the state. That included a fig of question bans connected section interstates and roads.

Schools successful Buffalo and astir Erie County canceled classes Friday, portion Amtrak unopen down stations successful the area.

The NFL besides announced Thursday that a Buffalo Bills location crippled scheduled for this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns has been moved to Detroit successful a determination that "has everything to bash astir safety," Bills Executive Vice President Ron Raccuia said to ESPN.

Kyra Laurie, a assemblage pupil who became stranded astatine her parent's location southbound of Buffalo successful Orchard Park that got respective feet of snow, told Watkins she's having a bully clip with her family, but said this tempest caught her by surprise.

"Being from Buffalo, you conscionable presume that you'll marque it, that you tin motortruck done immoderate benignant of snowstorm, but I consciousness similar this one's been truly aggressive," Laurie said.

Stella, a aureate retriever, plays successful the snowfall aft an aggravated lake-effect snowstorm impacted the country connected Friday successful Hamburg, N.Y. John Normile/Getty Images hide caption

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John Normile/Getty Images

Stella, a aureate retriever, plays successful the snowfall aft an aggravated lake-effect snowstorm impacted the country connected Friday successful Hamburg, N.Y.

John Normile/Getty Images

The dense snowfall is caused by the water effect

The portion is being pummeled by lake-effect snow, which occurs erstwhile acold aerial passes implicit a comparatively lukewarm assemblage of water, picking up a batch of moisture and dropping it implicit land. Areas adjacent lakes tin acquisition snowfall rates up to 3 inches an hr oregon more.

Colin Beier, an subordinate prof at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, told NPR the the quality betwixt water and aerial temperatures successful the country is highest until spring.

"It doesn't astonishment maine that with that large displacement to acold air, you inactive got a lukewarm lake, if it's pointed close astatine a large metropolis similar Buffalo oregon anyplace it's pointed you're going to get precise a important magnitude of snowfall close now," Beier said.

The station contains reporting from WBFO's Emyle Watkins, WBFO's Dave Debo and WRVO's Ava Pukatch and The Associated Press.