Buffalo residents urged to prepare for flooding
Temperatures in the Buffalo area climbed into the 40s Sunday, raising fears of flooding.
Buffalo residents urged to prepare for flooding Temperatures in the Buffalo area climbed into the 40s Sunday, raising fears of flooding. Check out this story on Freep.com: http://on.freep.com/1zP4sSS
AP Published 11:09 a.m. ET Nov. 23, 2014
Michael Palmer and Carin Schultz work to clear her car of snow and remove it from Union street on November 20, 2014 in the suburb of Hamburg, Buffalo, New York.(Photo: Getty Images)
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Buffalo is making significant progress clearing streets still clogged from an epic storm left more than 7 feet of snow even as a flooding threat looms, the city's mayor said Sunday.
A ban on driving will continue in hard-hit South Buffalo as hundreds of dump trucks, loaders and other snow removal equipment continue to work around the clock, Mayor Byron Brown said.
Temperatures in the Buffalo area climbed into the 40s Sunday, raising fears of flooding in the region. A flood warning from the National Weather Service is in effect until Monday afternoon.
A car drives by Schmidt's Collision and Glass after the roof collapsed after taking on heavy snow during this week's lake-effect snowstorms on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, in Hamburg, N.Y. (Photo: Associated Press)
"We are preparing for the worst but hoping for the best," Brown said.
Hundreds of volunteers turned out in a "shovel brigade" Saturday to help beleaguered Buffalo residents dig out after they were pummeled by a lake effect snow from Lake Erie.
"They're like angels," said Kevin Masterson, 61, after a handful of volunteers swarmed in to free his and his brother-in-law's cars from the drifts. "I was out shoveling and … all of the sudden I had all these people."
One of the volunteers, Greg Schreiber, said he'd keep going "until the back gives out."
City officials said residents should prepare for the possibility of flooded basements in the coming days. Rain was expected Sunday and temperatures were forecast to approach 60 degrees on Monday, accompanied by more rain.
National Weather Service meteorologist Jon Hitchcock said there might be trouble with drainage as snow and uncollected autumn leaves block catch basins. The threat of rain also heightened fears of roof collapses on already strained structures. Thirty major collapses have been reported.
The state already is moving stockpiles of pumps, sand bags and other flood provisions into the region.
The snow, which began late Monday and finally cleared out of all areas by daybreak Friday, has been blamed for at least a dozen deaths.
Photos: Buffalo buried under six feet of snow
Brian Cintron walks in his snow-bound south Buffalo neighborhood on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, in Buffalo, N.Y. Mike Groll, AP
This U.S. National Guard handout photo taken November 19, 2014 shows a New York Air National Guard Airman from the 107th Airlift Wing based in Niagara Falls, New York assisting in snow removal efforts from the roof of the Eden Heights Assisted Living Facility in West Seneca, New York. Maj. Mark Frank, AFP,Getty Images
This U.S. National Guard handout photo taken November 19, 2014 shows massive amounts of snow on the roof of the roof of the Eden Heights Assisted Living Facility in West Seneca, New York, where members of the New York Air National Guard from the 107th Airlift Wing based in Niagara Falls, New York are assisting in snow removal efforts. The facility, like much of Western New York in Erie County, experienced historic levels of lake effect snowfall that paralyzed the City of Buffalo and area roads, businesses and communities. Senior Master Sgt. Ray Lloyd, AFP, Getty Images
Drew Ahmed makes his way through nearly five feet of snow on November 19, 2014 in the Lakeview neighborhood of Buffalo. John Normile, Getty Images
A spider web is covered in snow along Rt 391 in Boston, N.Y. Harry Scull Jr., The Buffalo News,AP
In this photo provided by Patrick Bryne, his dog, Bonnie, sniffs a door blocked with snow in South Buffalo, N.Y. Patrick Bryne, AP
A dog looks at the snow that was blown in the back door of the home of Chrissy Hazard on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 in Cheektowaga, N.Y. Chrissy Hazard, AP
A man digs out his driveway in Depew, N.Y.,Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. Derek Gee, The Buffalo News,AP
Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., is buried in snow, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. Derek Gee, The Buffalo News,AP
A 4-foot fence and SUV are nearly buried along a street in Buffalo, N.Y. on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. Parts of New York measured the season's first big snowfall in feet, rather than inches, as 3 feet of lake-effect snow blanketed the Buffalo area. The Thruway Authority said white-out conditions caused by wind gusts of more than 30 mph forced the closure of Interstate 90 in both directions from the Rochester area to Ripley, on the Pennsylvania border 60 miles southwest of Buffalo. (AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson) Carolyn Thompson, AP
Snow is piled high on a vehicle and on houses in the south Buffalo area on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, in Buffalo, N.Y. Mike Groll, AP
A bulldozer clears the way for an ambulance in a neighborhood in West Seneca, N.Y.,Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. Derek Gee, The Buffalo News,AP
A man rides a snowmobile down an unplowed street in a neighborhood just south of Buffalo, New York. Mark Webster, EPA
Daryl Brothers walks in his his snow-bound south Buffalo neighborhood on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014. Mike Groll, AP
Greg Mitri shovels his way through nearly five feet of snow on November 19, 2014 in the Lakeview neighborhood of Buffalo. John Normile, Getty Images
Trucks are parked at Jim's Truck Stop in Cheektowaga, N.Y.,Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. Derek Gee, The Buffalo News,AP
Aileen Pawlowski and Gary Parker walk down Sycamore St. to get essentials from the local store in East Aurora, N.Y. Thursday Nov. 20, 2014. Gary Wiepert, AP
A woman waits for a bus on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, in Buffalo, N.Y. A new blast of lake-effect snow pounded Buffalo for a third day piling more misery on a city already buried by an epic, deadly snowfall that could leave some areas with nearly 8 feet of snow on the ground when it's all done. Mike Groll, AP
Cars are buried in deep snow in the south Buffalo area on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, in Buffalo, N.Y. Mike Groll, AP
Mark Settlemyer, left, gets help clearing snow from the roof of his mother's house from Ken Wesley on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014, in Lancaster, N.Y. Mike Groll, AP
Homes are covered in snow in West Seneca, N.Y.,Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. Derek Gee, The Buffalo News,AP
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's motorcade drives on the Thruway near Cheektowaga, N.Y., Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. Sharon Cantillon, AP
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo greets a snowbound trucker on the Thruway between Walden Ave. and Ridge Rd. in Cheektowaga, N.Y., Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. State officials say the Thruway will stay closed in the Buffalo area for the duration of a lake-effect storm that has dumped 6 feet of snow since Tuesday. Sharon Cantillon, The Buffalo News,AP
A frontend loader piles snow after dump trucks dropped loads of snow at the Central Terminal, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014, in Buffalo, N.Y. Sharon Cantillon, The Buffalo News,AP
Fidell Gomez walks back to his hotel in the snow in Hamburg, N.Y. on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. Harry Scull Jr., The Buffalo News,AP
Paul Lorenzo clears snow along Powers Road in Orchard Park, N.Y. on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. Harry Scull Jr., The Buffalo News, AP
Trucks lined Memorial Drive waiting to dump snow on the grounds of the Central Terminal, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014, in Buffalo, N.Y. Snow was being trucked out of the hardest hit areas. Sharon Cantillon, The Buffalo News, AP
Christie Marino looks for gas in Hamburg, N.Y., on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. Harry Scull Jr., The Buffalo News,AP
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