Buffalo Blizzard Blamed For 3 Deaths
Nearly 350,000 Are Without Power After Record-Setting October Storm
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Play CBS Video Video Early Winter In Buffalo Winter has arrived early in Buffalo, N.Y. Two feet of snow, a record for October, has blanketed the city. Ellen Maxwell reports.
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Bob Jaus tries to clear the snow in his driveway during a major snowstorm in Clarence, N.Y., a suburb of Buffalo, on Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/David Duprey)
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Beth Ottaviami of Corfu, N.Y., brushes off her car during the region's first snowstorm of the year in Williamsville, N.Y., on Oct. 12, 2006. (AP Photo/David Duprey)
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Mason City, Iowa, municipal employee Willie Bull cuts the grass despite the snow, Oct. 12, 2006. (AP/Globe Gazette, Arian Schuessler)
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A pedestrian walks around downed trees in Buffalo, N.Y., on Oct. 13, 2006. A rare early October snowstorm left parts of western New York blanketed with two feet of snow, prompting widespread blackouts, closing schools and halting traffic. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
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Photo Essay Buffalo Buried A rare early October snowstorm leaves parts of western New York blanketed with 2 feet of snow.
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Photos Shades Of Autumn See the beauty of the season and some fun it brings, too.
National Grid was working into the night to restore power to customers left in the dark, but many were expected to be without power through the weekend and into next week, spokesman Steve Brady said.
"This is extremely heavy snow," Brady said. "We can't do a complete damage assessment until the snow stops falling."
The company had more than 50 crews working on the damage and was expecting 100 more crews to arrive from other areas to help later in the evening and the next day.
But the end of the snow won't end the problems: The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for several western New York counties, from 2 p.m. Friday through Saturday evening, as warming temperatures combine with melting snow to create the potential of flooding in urban and low-lying areas.
Central Buffalo and Tonawanda also experienced heavy snowfall. Officials in Amherst ordered a driving ban for the entire town.
"We have a condition where 80 percent of the roads are impassable," said Lt. Stephen McGonagle of the Amherst Police Department.
A Middleport, N.Y. couple told WIVB-TV they had to drive over downed wires while falling branches were hitting their van. "My husband had to stop and pull somebody out of the ditch on the way up," said Rachel Rickard. "It's been pretty bad."
Buffalo schools were closed Friday.
Tree branches were strewn across the roads around Buffalo and other areas affected by heavy snowfall. A large box maple tree split in half, falling on Joan Casey's midtown Buffalo home and then landing on her second story deck.
"The whole house shook," Casey said. "We were very afraid. Originally I thought it was just the thunder, and then I came outside and I couldn't believe it."
Buffalo resident Denise Hanlon was also shocked by the heavy snowfall, which was accompanied by lighting and loud claps of thunder.
"It was unbelievable" to see snow so early, she said. "And the thunder. It was so bizarre. It was just amazing."
©MMVI CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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