“This is the worst storm probably in our lifetime and maybe in the history of the city,” Poloncarz said. “And this is not the end yet.”
Much of the county is under a travel ban, with only emergency vehicles and essential workers allowed on the roads. Officials urged people to stay indoors Monday, even if their heat wasn’t working and their cupboards were bare. Driving was still treacherous, and any car that got stuck in a snowbank risked blocking access for an ambulance or rescue crew.
The National Weather Service warned that a “reinforcing shot” of cold air from Canada could cause more snow across the Great Plains and Midwest on Monday, while the eastern half of the country would remain in a deep freeze.
Buffalo Niagara International Airport is closed through at least Wednesday morning. The monitoring site FlightAware.com reported more than 7,700 delays and 3,900 cancellations among flights within, into or out of the United States as of Monday evening. Southwest Airlines customers have been hit particularly hard, with two-thirds of the airline’s flights halted on Monday and more cancellations expected on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to CEO Bob Jordan.
