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Deathly Blizzard Hits Lake Erie, Death Toll at 39

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By Akerele Christabel

January 3, 2023
6:07 pm
Los Angeles, CA

Video shows buildings and vehicles covered in ice Video and photographs show buildings in upstate New York on the edge of Lake Erie entirely coated in ice, including monstrous-looking icicles spanning several feet long. Anyone walking through the streets will most probably feel like he stepped into a scene from an ice apocalypse. One drone video flying through the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg begins shows a shot of the town clock tower buried in snow following the Christmas storm dubbed “the blizzard of the century” by Governor Kathy Hochul. However, when the camera pans around the shores of Lake Erie, it rapidly cuts to almost apocalyptic sights of buildings coated in creepy-looking enormous icicles that totally obscure any windows, doors, or balconies. “Those houses look like they’re from ‘The

Video shows buildings and vehicles covered in ice

Video and photographs show buildings in upstate New York on the edge of Lake Erie entirely coated in ice, including monstrous-looking icicles spanning several feet long. Anyone walking through the streets will most probably feel like he stepped into a scene from an ice apocalypse.

One drone video flying through the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg begins shows a shot of the town clock tower buried in snow following the Christmas storm dubbed “the blizzard of the century” by Governor Kathy Hochul.

However, when the camera pans around the shores of Lake Erie, it rapidly cuts to almost apocalyptic sights of buildings coated in creepy-looking enormous icicles that totally obscure any windows, doors, or balconies.

“Those houses look like they’re from ‘The Day After Tomorrow,” a social media user commented on social media, referring to the 2004 disaster film.

Only the buildings on the water’s edge appear to be encased in the furious blizzard, but those farther behind them appear to be unaffected.

“I’d say it started on Friday, probably about eight or nine a.m.,” said restaurant owner Kevin Hoak, standing outside his icicle-covered eatery while interviewed by the NY Post.

He explained that high storm winds blew lake water over the structures, which swiftly turned to ice as the “bomb apocalypse” dropped temperatures from “45 degrees to roughly 12 degrees.”

On the brighter side, Hoak claimed that the unusual weather covering not only did not affect his business, but also protected it.

“It really protected the restaurant by going so low in temperature because it acts as a barrier, protecting the restaurant foundation,” Hoak added “with only the parking lot getting “very badly battered up.

It comes as the death toll in the Erie area has reached 36, according to CNN news, making it deadlier than the epic Blizzard of 1977, which killed up to 29 people.

The blizzard of 1977 swept through the regions for Western New York and Southern Ontario from January 28 to February 1. The National Weather Service recorded wind gusts ranging from 75-114 kilometers per hour and as high as 40 feet. With vehicles buried several feet beneath the ice, snowmobiles became the only viable means of transportation.

County Executive Mark Poloncarz of Erie County has labeled it “the worst storm certainly in our lifetime,” even for a region notorious for significant snowfall.

Mr Poloncarz stated that less than 1,000 houses in Erie County are currently without electricity, and that 95% of homeowners should have power restored by the end of the day.

According to county officials, the city of Buffalo, which got hit with more than four feet (1.2m) of snow, has made headway in cleaning roadways. According to Mr Poloncarz, at least 65% of city roadways have at least one passing lane, however a driving prohibition remains in effect owing to dangerous conditions.

After closing last Friday, the local Buffalo Niagara International Airport reopened at 11:00 a.m. local time (16:00 GMT), though nearly all scheduled departure flights for the day were cancelled or delayed, according to the airport’s website.

Buffalo’s rail service has resumed operations on a limited basis.

The US National Guard is going door-to-door in areas of the county that lost power to do health checks because officials are “fearful” that some people living alone died during the storm, according to Mr Poloncarz.

With temperatures rising and snow melting, the county is preparing for flooding, according to the county executive.

Residents in the United States and Canada are still dealing with the aftermath of the terrible winter storm, as well as other dangerous weather systems that have claimed countless lives.

As a result of a “atmospheric river,” a long narrow channel of moisture in the sky that can cause significant precipitation, states in the western United States and the Rocky Mountains region have seen high winds and rain.

According to the Weather Prediction Center, a rush of heavy rain or mountain snow is likely to hit the west and south of the United States on Thursday and might last through the end of the week.

Forecasts from the National Weather Service warned that winds over Lake Erie would climb to 60 mph and waves could grow to more than 25 feet during the peak of the storm last Friday and Saturday. Forecasters cautioned that “heavy freezing spray” could accumulate on surfaces at nearly an inch per hour.

The system began flooding the western states of Washington and Oregon on Tuesday, killing five people in car accidents caused by downed trees from the storm, according to Oregon State Police.

According to Oregon State Police, a big tree fell onto the roof of a car on Highway 26 in Clatsop County on Tuesday, killing the 19-year-old driver Justin Nolasco Pedraza and two passengers – a four-year-old girl and 41-year-old Bonifacio Olvera Nolasco. All three were discovered deceased at the scene by first responders.

According to outage tracker PowerOutage.us, more than 70,000 customers in Washington and Oregon were without power as of Wednesday afternoon.

The storm is anticipated to “linger into the approaching weekend,” according to the Weather Prediction Center.

According to officials, the Washington state capital of Olympia had a record high tide of 18.4 feet (5.6 metres), bringing marine life into the city’s streets.

Heavy snow is also expected in the Sierra Nevada, Cascades, and Rockies as moist air pushes eastward, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

Meanwhile, some Canadians are still without power as a result of the storm, including over 19,000 consumers in the province of Quebec, according to public utility provider Hydro-Québec on Wednesday.

According to Hydro One, more than 10,000 customers in Ontario were still without power.