Snowstorm batters western New York 

Snowfall of more than 6 feet in western New York state disrupted road travel and forced airlines to cancel flights in the Buffalo area on Saturday.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul called in the National Guard, deploying about 150 members to help with snow removal and resident needs in the hardest-hit parts of Erie County.

At a press conference Saturday afternoon, Hochul said she would sign a request for a federal emergency declaration to seek reimbursements for expenses on storm response.

Nearly 90 crashes have been reported and almost 290 people were rescued from roads, Hochul said.

“We do have some passenger vehicles that have been abandoned,” she said.

“They’re being dealt with, but the scale is nowhere near what we’ve seen with storms from the past.”

Nearly three feet of snow had fallen at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, where many flights were canceled on Saturday.

Buffalo, the second-largest city in New York, was placed back under a travel ban on Saturday morning.

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“This has been a very unpredictable storm with the snow bands moving, back and forth, north to south,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said.

“The snow has come down very fast, very wet, very heavy.”

Buffalo saw daily record snowfall of more than 16 inches, topping the one-day record of 7.6 inches recorded in 2014, the National Weather Service said on Saturday.

According to the National Weather Service, conditions could persist through Monday morning.

At least two deaths were reported on Friday. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said in a tweet that two residents died of apparent heart attacks while shoveling snow.

County officials warned people to stay off roads to keep clear for snow removal crews.

Eleven counties remained under an emergency declaration issued on Thursday by Hochul.

Zainab Sa’id