BUFFALONEWS.COM
// T H U R S D A Y , N O V E M B E R 2 0 , 2 0 1 4 // F I N A L E D I T I O N
Stories from the storm: Residents’ spirit persists through thick and thicker. | PAGE A6
Around the region: Stranded stuck cars present significant obstacle to highway crews. | PAGE D1
On the Web: Get the latest storm updates, forecasts and photos at BuffaloNews.com.
HERE WE GO AGAIN
Derek Gee/Buffalo News
A resident of Depew clears a narrow path from his snow-engulfed house to his unplowed street during the brief calm between two lake-effect storms Wednesday.
Snowbound residents
begin to burrow out as
second storm takes aim
Hold on tight:
lake-e≠ect
roller coaster
ride isn’t over
By Maki Becker
N E WS STA F F R EPORT ER
After a similar incident on
the Thruway here four years ago,
state officials had promised that
motorists never again would be
stranded on the Thruway during
a snowstorm.
But it did happen again. And
on top of that, when Gov. Andrew
M. Cuomo arrived Wednesday, he
And then the second storm hit.
After a wall of snow buried neighborhoods and towns from South Buffalo to Alden, another lake-effect storm
took wider aim on Wednesday, this time
starting at Niagara County, then barreling its way over Buffalo and back down
to the areas already buried by 5 feet and
more of snow.
It was expected to mound another 2
feet over Erie County’s snow-smothered
heart by the end of today.
“You know what? It is what it is,” said
Dan Amatura, highway superintendent
for the Town of Lancaster, where 63
inches of snow fell during the first storm
Monday night and Tuesday. With plows
rendered useless in chest-high snow, his
workers have worked tirelessly to clear
streets using bulky high-lifts.
Beyond exhausted, Amatura, like
many on his crew, has been home for
about a half-hour total since the storm
hit to shower and brush his teeth. He has
barely slept. “Last night, I dozed off in
the office for a few minutes,” he said. “I’ll
just keep going.”
The thick, gray lake-effect bands dissipated by lunchtime Wednesday and
for a few brief hours, the sun shined
and snowbound Erie County residents
burrowed their way out of their homes
– some through their kitchen windows
– to get a first look at the mountains of
See Thruway on Page A10
See Storm on Page A8
By T.J. Pignataro
N E WS STA F F R EPORT ER
If this week’s historic wintry blast
could be described in terms of a roller
coaster, we would be cresting the top of
the second large drop and racing downward again into another all-day, whiteknuckled strike.
Once that’s weathered sometime early Friday, it will be time to be
whipped through an upside-down loop
for the weekend when temperatures
soar above freezing and remain there
for 72 hours or more.
That has the potential to result in
widespread snowmelt and flooding, but
forecasters aren’t going there just yet.
“They’re still trying to determine
if there will be flooding,” said Steven
Welch, meteorologist with the National
Weather Service.
After a day’s reprieve Wednesday
from heavy lake-effect snow that relentlessly pelted areas of South Buffalo, the
eastern suburbs and the Southtowns –
dropping up to 65 inches of snow from
thick, moisture-laden clouds – an additional 30 or more inches are forecast for
many of those same areas today.
Weather Service officials are worried
See Forecast on Page A5
INDEX
Business ...................... D6
City & Region ............. D1
Classified ..................... B7
Comics ......................... C6
Derek Gee/Buffalo News
Crews continue working to free motorists stranded on the New York State Thruway near Ridge
Road on Wednesday. Many drivers were forced to spend two nights in their vehicles.
Stranded motorists on Thruway
not happy about being abandoned
By Barbara O’Brien
and Tom Precious
N E WS STA F F R EPORT ER S
David Carr has driven the Thruway through Hamburg dozens of
times from his home in Washington, D.C., to get to Toronto.
Samuel Martin of Oregon was
on his way to Massachusetts.
Steven Ratcliff of Cheektowaga
Crossword ......... B8, B11
Daily Dish .................. C5
Gusto ............................ A5
Letters ........................A13
Lotteries ..................... B2
NeXt .............................. C1
Obituaries .................. B4
Opinion ..................... A12
was headed to work in Hamburg.
They and dozens of others became stranded on the Thruway
beginning Tuesday and spent two
harrowing nights in their vehicles
because of the lake effect storm
that blasted the Snow Belt.
After being marooned, they
were angry, saying they felt abandoned. Their family and friends
were furious.
Picture Page .............. C8
Scoreboard ................ B6
Sports ............................ B1
Television ................... C4
WEATHER
Lake-effect squalls, windy. High
28, low 18. Details on Page D10.
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