Buffalo buried in record-setting snowfall

A battering winter storm knocked out power to 1.7 million homes and businesses across the United States on Saturday. Across the country, officials have attributed more than a dozen deaths to exposure, icy car crashes and other effects of the storm, including two people who died in their homes outside Buffalo, New York, when emergency crews couldn’t reach them amid historic blizzard conditions.

The extreme weather has impacted transportation in parts of western New York and flights cancelled from Buffalo Niagara International Airport through Monday morning. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the winter storm currently battering her state may be one of the worst in history. Hochul also said people would be encouraged to stay home, even if it meant not seeing loved ones at Christmas, and celebrations could wait in the interests of safety.