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Snow from devastating Buffalo storm that killed 31 begins to melt amid fears of flooding

A blanket of snow covers Bedford Avenue in Buffalo, N.Y. after the the blizzard, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. State and military police were sent Tuesday to keep people off Buffalo???s snow-choked roads, and officials kept counting fatalities three days after western New York???s deadliest storm in at least two generations.(Derek Gee /The Buffalo News via AP)
A brutal blizzard has snowed in most of the city of Buffalo, where officials have enforced a driving ban until the streets have been cleared (Picture: AP)

The ‘once-in-a-generation’ winter storm that has frozen the city of Buffalo has begun to melt, and local officials are scrambling to clear the streets before flooding threatens the devastated region.

The Buffalo area saw about 52 inches of snow over the last four days, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Combined with another massive snowstorm that hit the region weeks earlier, Buffalo saw a total of 92.7 inches of snow in the last three months. The region typically sees an average of 95 inches of snow every winter.

At least 31 people have died in New York’s second largest city after the storm snowed residents in for days.

TOPSHOT - Residents shovel sidewalks in Buffalo, New York, on December 27, 2022. - Temperatures were expected to moderate across the eastern and midwest US on December 27, after days of freezing weather from
Residents shovel sidewalks in Buffalo, New York. Most of Buffalo’s roads remain covered in snow as a driving ban was enforced (Picture: AFP)
People walk beside piles of snow on a road following a winter storm in Buffalo, New York, U.S., December 27, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario
Buffalo residents venture out into the storm on foot on December 27. Some grocery stores reopened on Tuesday, despite a city-wide ban on driving (Picture: REUTERS)
Residents enter a local corner store in Buffalo, New York, on December 26, 2022, as many major grocery stores remained closed. - Emergency crews in New York were scrambling on December 26, 2022, to rescue marooned residents from what authorities called the
Residents make their way to a local corner store in Buffalo, New York (Picture: AFP)

A total of 17 of those dead were found outside stranded in the blizzard. Another three people were found dead in their cars, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said.

Additionally, another seven people died in their homes after they lost heat.

The rest of the fatalities occurred due to medical emergencies. One person died when an ambulance was delayed in the blizzard, while three more had heart attacks while shoveling snow.

Buffalo’s emergency services were stretched thin during the storm. On Saturday night, almost every fire truck in the city had been stranded in the snowfall.

Darnell Saunders of Buffalo checks his car, following a deadly Christmas blizzard, in the western portion of New York, U.S., December 27, 2022. REUTERS/Robert Kirkham
A Buffalo resident attempts to start his car during the blizzard (Picture: REUTERS)
TOPSHOT - An excavator drives through Buffalo, New York, on December 27, 2022. - The monster storm that killed dozens in the United States over the Christmas weekend continued to inflict misery on New York state and air travelers nationwide Tuesday, as stories emerged of families trapped for days during the
A bulldozer works to clear snow from the streets of Buffalo on Tuesday, December 27 (Picture: AFP)
LACKAWANNA, NY - DECEMBER 27: A gas station canopy lays on its side after high winds and heavy snow along Lake Shore Boulevard on December 27, 2022 in Lackawanna, New York. The historic winter storm Elliott dumped up to four feet of snow on the area leaving thousands without power and at least 28 confirmed dead in the city of Buffalo and the surrounding suburbs. (Photo by John Normile/Getty Images)
A gas station canopy lays on its side after high winds and heavy snow along Lake Shore Boulevard on December 27 in Lackawanna, New York (Picture: Getty Images)

On Tuesday, the New York State Police and National Guard Military Police began enforcing a ban on driving within the city of Buffalo, which officials said residents were not following.

‘Please stay off the roads to allow crews to plow streets and remove abandoned vehicles,’ Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said on Tuesday. ‘We are plowing and hauling snow in all sections of the City.’

Poloncarz put it more frankly: ‘Please stay out of the city of Buffalo.’

Meanwhile, crews are working quickly to transport snow in dump trucks out of the city’s streets. Poloncarz estimated that it would take about two days for the crews to ensure at least one lane is open on each street.

FILE PHOTO: A man walks beside ice formed by the spray of Lake Erie waves which covered a restaurant during a winter storm in Hamburg, New York, U.S., December 26, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsey DeDario TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY/File Photo
A man walks beside ice formed by the spray of Lake Erie waves which covered a restaurant during a winter storm in Hamburg, New York (Picture: REUTERS)
In this image taken by drone, houses along the shores of Lake Erie, near Fort Erie, Ontario, remain covered in ice Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, following a winter storm that swept through much of Ontario. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Caption: In this image taken by drone, houses along the shores of Lake Erie, near Fort Erie, Ontario, remain covered in ice Tuesday, December 27 (Picture: AP)

New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the storm a ‘once-in-a-generation’ weather event and thanked New York’s first responders for their hard work over the last four days.

‘I am heartbroken by the loss of life from this storm,’ the governor said on Twitter. ‘Like all New Yorkers, Bill and I are keeping those we’ve lost — and all their loved ones — in our hearts and in our prayers.’

Hochul continued: ‘The weather events of the past week were some of the worst we’ve ever seen, but together, we showed that New York always stands strong in the face of adversity.’

Many longtime residents have compared this storm to the Blizzard of 1977, a legendary storm that dropped over 100 inches of snow on western New York and killed 29 people across the region.

A vehicle and snowmobiles make their way down a snow-covered street in Buffalo, New York, on December 27, 2022. - The monster storm that killed dozens in the United States over the Christmas weekend continued to inflict misery on New York state and air travelers nationwide Tuesday, as stories emerged of families trapped for days during the
A vehicle and snowmobiles make their way down a snow-covered street in Buffalo, New York, on December 27, 2022 (Picture: AFP)
BUFFALO, NY - DECEMBER 27: Good Samaritans help to push out a car along South Park Avenue on December 27, 2022 in Buffalo, New York. The historic winter storm Elliott dumped up to four feet of snow, leaving thousands without power and at least 28 confirmed dead in the city of Buffalo and the surrounding suburbs. (Photo by John Normile/Getty Images)
Neighbors help dig a car out of the snow in Buffalo on Tuesday, December 27 (Picture: Getty Images)

Weather in the region is expected to gradually get warmer as the week goes on, the NWS said. On Tuesday night, the agency finally lifted the winter weather advisory on the region.

‘It is the first time since 2.22pm on December 20 that we have had NO winter weather headlines in effect for our area,’ The NWS in Buffalo said. ‘That’s one week, 6 hours, 38 minutes.’

The above normal temperatures threaten the region with floods, but the NWS currently predicts this will be of the ‘minor or nuisance variety.’

Temperatures are expected to climb above freezing in the area for the first time in days, with a high of 44 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday. Temperatures could climb as high as 56 degrees Fahrenheit by next week.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Gov Kathy Hochul/Shutterstock (13685397l) Gov. KATHY HOCHUL meets with officials with the New York State Department of Transportation on efforts to clear Route 33 and other highways in the Buffalo area. Extreme Cold Weather Sweeps Across US: New York, Buffalo, USA - 26 Dec 2022
New York Governor Kathy Hochul meets with officials with the New York State Department of Transportation on efforts to clear Route 33 and other highways in the Buffalo area (Picture: Gov Kathy Hochul/Shutterstock)
Ice formed by the spray of Lake Erie waves covers a walkway during a winter storm in Irving, New York, U.S., December 24, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsey DeDario
Ice formed by the spray of Lake Erie waves covers a walkway during a winter storm in Irving, New York (Picture: REUTERS)

However, Erie County Commissioner Dan Neaverth Jr told the Washington Post that he was ‘a little bit concerned’ that crews could finish clearing out storm drains and ahead of the impending warm weather.

Additionally, rising temperatures will prevent Lake Erie from freezing over, which could lead to more devastating ‘lake-effect’ storms in the region.

‘We are probably going to be at risk for having serious lake-effect snow as long as the lake is not frozen, and it’s probably not going to be frozen for some time,’ Poloncarz warned on Tuesday.

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