Heavy snow covers the Buffalo street in New York. (Associated Press)
New York:
All 50 states of the US woke to a record below zero temperature on Tuesday as an unseasonably cold blast moved across the country. An overnight snowstorm in in western New York state killed four people and trapped people in cars and homes.
Even in a city famous for blizzards that roar off Lake Erie shared with Canada, this snowstorm stunned Buffalo locals. It even featured the unusual phenomenon of "thundersnow" - in which snow falls instead of rain during a storm. A national weather forecaster said he was at a loss of words to describe it. (See pics)
Many areas south of Buffalo, which is near the Niagara Falls, were buried under six feet of snow in less than 24 hours. The snowfall was expected to continue. "Some parts of our county are going to receive a year's worth of snowfall in three days," Erie county executive Mark Poloncarz told the local media.
Three people died, apparently from heart attacks while shovelling snow, the fourth person died while pushing a trapped car, Mr Poloncarz said.
A driving ban was put into effect in some stretches after a women's university basketball team spent more than 24 hours trapped in a bus on a highway because of the snow, before being rescued. Officials also urged older residents not to try to shovel snow.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for 10 counties. National Guard troops were deployed to help residents cope with the storm.
A 140-mile (225-km) stretch of the New York State Thruway along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario was closed.
Across the country, it was the coldest November morning since 1976, said Weather Bell Analytics, a meteorologist consulting firm. Such cold is not seen until late December through February, said the US National Weather Service.
In the south, states were bracing for a record chill from the Arctic-born cold that swept the Rocky Mountains last week. Hawaii's Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano, had a temperature of minus one degree Celsius, said NWS spokeswoman Susan Buchanan.
Even in sunny Florida, freezing temperatures were expected through Wednesday morning, the NWS said.
Even in a city famous for blizzards that roar off Lake Erie shared with Canada, this snowstorm stunned Buffalo locals. It even featured the unusual phenomenon of "thundersnow" - in which snow falls instead of rain during a storm. A national weather forecaster said he was at a loss of words to describe it. (See pics)
Many areas south of Buffalo, which is near the Niagara Falls, were buried under six feet of snow in less than 24 hours. The snowfall was expected to continue. "Some parts of our county are going to receive a year's worth of snowfall in three days," Erie county executive Mark Poloncarz told the local media.
Three people died, apparently from heart attacks while shovelling snow, the fourth person died while pushing a trapped car, Mr Poloncarz said.
A driving ban was put into effect in some stretches after a women's university basketball team spent more than 24 hours trapped in a bus on a highway because of the snow, before being rescued. Officials also urged older residents not to try to shovel snow.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for 10 counties. National Guard troops were deployed to help residents cope with the storm.
A 140-mile (225-km) stretch of the New York State Thruway along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario was closed.
Across the country, it was the coldest November morning since 1976, said Weather Bell Analytics, a meteorologist consulting firm. Such cold is not seen until late December through February, said the US National Weather Service.
In the south, states were bracing for a record chill from the Arctic-born cold that swept the Rocky Mountains last week. Hawaii's Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano, had a temperature of minus one degree Celsius, said NWS spokeswoman Susan Buchanan.
Even in sunny Florida, freezing temperatures were expected through Wednesday morning, the NWS said.
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