The first big snowfall of the season blanketed parts of New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan during the hectic US holiday travel and shopping weekend, with numbing cold and heavy snow forecast to persist through the early part of the week and cause hazards in the Great Lakes, Plains, and Midwest regions. The snowstorm led to an emergency declaration in parts of New York and a disaster declaration in Pennsylvania, the AP reports, with officials warning of dangerous conditions for travelers returning home after Thanksgiving. "Travel will be extremely difficult and hazardous this weekend, especially in areas where multiple feet of snow may accumulate very quickly," the National Weather Service said.
A blast of Arctic air brought bitter temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit below average to the Northern Plains, the weather service said, prompting cold advisories for parts of North Dakota. Frigid air was expected to move over the eastern third of the US by Monday, with temperatures about 10 degrees below average. Nearly 2 feet of snow fell in parts of New York, Ohio, and Michigan, and 29 inches was recorded in Pennsylvania's northwestern tip. The weather service said Saturday afternoon that the heaviest snow totals were expected "downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario, affecting areas from northeast Ohio, far northwest Pennsylvania, western New York State and portions of northwest New York state."
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state prepared for the storm for days by deploying snowplows and thousands of workers and consulting with utility providers. She also dispatched personnel from other parts of the state. Parts of Erie County in the northwest Pennsylvania received nearly 2 feet of snow with more expected through Monday night. Officials said Sunday that even snowplows were getting stuck in Erie, per the AP. With stretches of roads impassable in northwestern Pennsylvania, scores of travelers took refuge in the lobby and hallways of a Holiday Inn near I-90. Employee Jeremiah Weatherley said workers opened the conference room and gave them blankets. "They just showed up, and we don't want to turn people away," he said.
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