Buffalo Blizzard Blamed For 3 Deaths

(CBS/AP)  Three deaths in western New York have been attributed to a monster storm that dumped at least two feet of snow on the state. Officials also report about 350,000 utility customers are without power because of the record-breaking snowstorm that swept through the Great Lakes and Buffalo areas early Friday morning.

Two people died in traffic accidents blamed on the storm — one in Niagara County and the other in Lancaster — and another person died after being hit by a falling tree limb while shoveling snow in Amherst, the Erie County Health Department said.

Iowa, Wisconsin and North Dakota got hit earlier in the week as winter made its first early inroads. Detroit, site of Friday's American League Championship Series game between the Tigers and the Oakland A's, may be next. Temperatures there aren't expected to rise beyond the mid-40s. Major League Baseball moved the starting time for Friday's game ahead by four hours, to 4:30 p.m. EDT, in hopes of beating the snow.

"It's definitely not going to be baseball weather," said Dave Gurney of the National Weather Service in Michigan. "Around 45 degrees, wind gusts up to 35 mph and some snow showers."

Friday's hearty helping of Buffalo snow was day two for the Great Lakes city, which on Thursday recorded 8.3 inches of the same, setting a record for the "snowiest" October day in Buffalo in the 137-year history of the weather service, according to meteorologist Tom Niziol. The previous record of 6 inches was set on Oct. 31, 1917.

Niziol said the northern half of Erie County and southern portions of Niagara and Orleans Counties were among the hardest-hit areas. The storm closed a 100-mile stretch of the New York Thruway from Rochester to Dunkirk southwest of Buffalo, sections of which were still closed in the early afternoon. Dozens of snowplows are being used to clear the highway, while snowmobiles are being used to bring food and water to stranded motorists.

"This is an extremely rare event for this early in the season," Niziol said.

Ambulances are bringing oxygen to elderly patients and driving others to dialysis treatments. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown says there are no reports of any deaths or injuries.

Buffalo's normally busy downtown streets were deserted.

"All the trees are down. No power," said resident Ron Pellnat, surveying the damage. "It's Friday the 13th, how about that?"

The city's main airport was closed Friday morning as runways were cleared after at least 14 inches of snow fell, said Tom Paone, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The snow was expected to continue throughout the morning, he said.

Gov. George Pataki headed to the area and is expected to declare a state of emergency for four hard-hit counties.

Power lines were down throughout the area. The weight of the thick snow piling onto trees still bearing leaves was taking a toll on tree limbs, breaking them off and blocking streets, said Buffalo Public Works Commissioner Joe Giambra. "That's what's really causing a lot of problems right now," Giambra told CBS Buffalo affiliate WIVB-TV.

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