(WXXI News & AP) BUFFALO, N.Y. — The situation in Erie County is slowly starting to improve on Monday, after parts of that county and other areas in Western NY got pummeled with lake effect snow.
As arctic air streamed across the relatively warmer waters of Lake Erie, there were reports of about two-and-a-half feet of snow in some places. Parts of Genesee County saw nearly two feet of snow, and also areas in Wyoming and Orleans county got a lot of snow.
The immediate Rochester area got just a few inches of snow, with higher accumulations to the west.
A travel ban on commercial traffic on the NYS Thruway from exit 46 in Henrietta to the Pennsylvania state line was lifted early Monday morning.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said early Monday that a travel ban was lifted for some parts of Erie County.
The Buffalo Bills-Pittsburgh Steelers 'wildcard' playoff game was rescheduled from Sunday to Monday afternoon due to the storm and the danger that would have been facing people getting to and from the game. It will be played Monday at 4:30 p.m.
The Buffalo Bills renewed their call for shovelers at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, on Monday morning to help dig out from more than a foot and a half of snow that fell through a blustery weekend that delivered the snow amid wind gusts of 60 mph.
Crews had the turf cleared under a sunny sky by midmorning while citizen shovelers who took them up on the offer to earn $20 an hour worked in temperatures in the teens to clear seats for fans ahead of the 4:30 p.m. game.
At first glance it was a daunting task, Bob Isaacs of Buffalo acknowledged a few hours after arriving at 7:30 a.m. But he considered his work his contribution to the team.
“You got to remember you're a Bills fan. It’s all part of the deal," he said.
Neighboring towns saw even higher snow totals, thanks to roving Lake Erie-fed snow bands: 41 inches in Hamburg and Angola and three feet in West Seneca, Blasdell and South Buffalo.
Beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday, all commercial traffic was banned on all state, county and local roads in Erie County and on the Thruway between exit 46 (Henrietta) and the Pennsylvania State Line. This ban will remain in effect indefinitely.
Utilities including RG&E, NYSEG and National Grid geared up over the weekend with strong winds in the forecast, especially for parts of Western NY.
Some parts of the Buffalo area saw gusts of more than 60 miles per hours; the wind gusts were around 50 mph or so in the Rochester area, and while there were some outages, there wasn't the type of widespread, major outages some people were concerned about.
Airports across the country were impacted. More than half of flights into and out of Buffalo Niagara International Airport were canceled. Scores of flights also were canceled or delayed at Chicago, Denver and Seattle-Tacoma airports. There weren't as many cancellations or delays at the Frederick Douglas Greater Rochester International Airport.
