Live updates: Western New York digs out from Blizzard of '22

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The 7 News and 7 Weather teams will continue to provide the latest updates on the blizzard response in Western New York.

Read the latest forecast here.

Live updates

Thursday 12:50 p.m.: As of Thursday afternoon, 40 people have died as a result of blizzard conditions in Western New York. 39 deaths have been reported in Erie County, and one death has been reported in Niagara County. In Erie County, 31 were recovered in the City of Buffalo, 7 were recovered in the suburbs, and one is unknown.

Thursday 12:01 a.m.: The driving ban has been lifted in the City of Buffalo. A travel advisory remains in place. All major highways have reopened.

Wednesday 4:45 p.m.: As of Wednesday afternoon, 38 people have died as a result of blizzard conditions in Western New York. 37 deaths have been reported in Erie County, and one death has been reported in Niagara County. In Erie County, 29 were recovered in the City of Buffalo, 7 were recovered in the suburbs, and one is unknown.

Wednesday 12:15 p.m.: You may be eligible for reimbursement on food or prescription medications that spoiled due to extended outages during the blizzard. You can find more information here.

Wednesday 12 p.m.: According to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, 34 deaths have been confirmed in Erie County. An additional death was confirmed in Niagara County bringing the total to 35 across Western New York.

Wednesday 10 a.m.: National Guard will be performing wellness checks door-to-door at homes that lost power for extended periods.

Wednesday 9 a.m.: The driving ban remains in effect for the City of Buffalo. The Buffalo Police Department reports more than 450 pieces of snow removal equipment are deployed in the city Wednesday.

Tuesday 5 p.m.: According to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, 31 deaths have been confirmed in Erie County. An additional death was confirmed in Niagara County bringing the total to 32 across Western New York.

Tuesday 4 p.m.: The Red Cross is teaming up with the City of Buffalo to open a shelter at the Delavan-Grider Community Center at 877 E. Delavan Avenue in Buffalo. The shelter is open to anyone in need of assistance.

Tuesday 1:45 p.m: USPS provided the following statement to 7 News on operations in WNY on Tuesday — "The severe weather conditions affected our employee availability this morning but we have employees on hand working hard to clear out and prep our facilities with the goal of opening our offices tomorrow as well as attempting to delivery wherever possible. We thank our customers for their understanding and appreciate their support."

Tuesday 1:30 p.m.: Officials announced that vehicles that were abandoned during this weekend's blizzard are now being towed. You can find lists of towed vehicles here.

Tuesday 1 p.m. According to a spokesperson, "due to the resources available to maintain store operations," the Amherst Street Wegmans store will close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and all other Erie and Niagara County stores will close at 8 p.m. The City of Niagara Falls says Modern Disposal will be performing regularly scheduled trash pickup Wednesday through Friday and those who normally are scheduled to have Monday or Tuesday garbage pickups will be pushed back to next week and there will be no item restrictions for those two days.

Tuesday 12:10 p.m.: NFTA reports the Metro Rail is now running every half hour and service is being restored on the following routes 4 Broadway, 8 Main, 24 Genesee, 25 Delaware, 34 Niagara Falls Boulevard, 35 Sheridan, 40 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, 50 Buffalo Ave, 52 North End Circulator, 55 Pine Ave, 59 NCCC.

Tuesday 12 p.m.: Erie County has begun lifting a countywide travel ban and as of noon on Tuesday, the only location where a driving ban remains in place is in the City of Buffalo. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced 100 military police and additional troopers from New York State police are coming to Buffalo for traffic control and ticketing. In addition, the only highways that remain closed are I-190 from I-90 to I-290, Route 33, Route 198, and Route 5.

The driving ban has been lifted in the Town of Cheektowaga.

Monday 7 p.m.: The driving ban has been lifted in the Town of Amherst.

Monday 4:30 p.m.: Officials say 28 people have died as a result of blizzard conditions in Western New York.

Monday 3 p.m.: The driving ban has been lifted in Evans. The ban remains in place for Amherst, Clarence, Cheektowaga, Buffalo, Lackawanna, and Hamburg.

Monday 2:50 p.m.: Village of Kenmore announced it will not collect trash or recycling for the week of 12/26. Pickup will resume the week of 1/3.

Monday 2:10 p.m.: The NFTA announced the airfield at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport will be closed an additional day, until Wednesday at 11 a.m.

Monday 1:30 p.m.: Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a request for emergency disaster declaration has been sent to the White House.

Monday 1 p.m.: Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz reports the driving ban is lifted for the Town of West Seneca.

Monday 11:30 a.m.: The Town of Amherst, which still has a driving ban, says if and when the ban is lifted a 24-hour parking ban will be in place throughout the town until further notice. In addition, Amherst Police will report an update for those owners who abandoned their vehicles and information can be found on the town’s website here.

The Town of Cheektowaga said those who live on streets with alternate side parking should not move their vehicles. The rule to move your vehicle at 5 p.m. on Monday is being suspended until next week. The overnight parking ban remains in place. Once the driving ban is lifted, the town said it will release a spreadsheet on its website with information on where towed vehicles can be located for pickup.

The Town of Tonawanda announced a town-wide on-street parking ban goes into effect at 12 .a.m Tuesday until further notice. "We need the streets clear of ALL vehicles so our. Town Highway crews can continue with snow removal."

Monday 11 a.m.: New York State Police are urging drivers to stay off the roads as they attempt search and rescue operations. NYSP issued the following statement:

Monday 9:40 a.m.: Erie County reports the death toll in the county has risen to 25 as a result of the blizzard. According to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, residents in areas where the driving ban still remains should expect it to be in place through at least the daylight hours on Monday. This includes Amherst, Clarence, Buffalo, Cheektowaga, West Seneca, Lackawanna, Hamburg, Evans.

Monday 8:25 a.m.: The Walden Galleria will remain closed on Monday, December 26, 2022, due to the current travel ban.

Monday 6:30 a.m.: Travel bans remain in effect in Erie County for the city of Buffalo, Amherst, Lackawanna, Cheektowaga, Clarence, Evans, Hamburg and West Seneca. Ban lifted for all other municipalities lifted as of 7 a.m. Travel bans have also been lifted in Niagara and Genesee counties.

Seventeen deaths are now blamed on the blizzard: 16 in Erie County and one in Niagara County. The youngest victim was a 22 year-old woman. The oldest victim was 93 years-old.

Sunday 5:20 p.m.: There are now 12 deaths attributed to the storm in Erie County: six in Buffalo, three in Amherst and three in Cheektowaga. The youngest was 26 years old, the oldest was 93 years old.

The driving ban in Erie County will remain in effect until at least 7 a.m. on Monday, but is expected to remain in effect longer in hardest hit areas. The ban will be enforced with ticketing going forward.

Most residents have had power restored, but thousands remain without power.

Sunday 10 a.m.: During the City of Buffalo's storm response update, Mayor Byron Brown reported six Buffalo residents had died in the storm.

The city is prioritizing rescuing stranded drivers and clearing the way for utility crews to access power stations and restore power.

Sunday 9 a.m.: Four more deaths have been attributed to the storm, bringing the total number of people killed in the storm to seven.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has been in contact with the Biden administration regarding a possible disaster declaration for the area.

Snow and wind conditions have greatly improved in Erie County, and crews are expected to be able to deploy to clear roads and repair utility lines.

A travel ban remains in effect for Erie County.

Sunday 8:10 a.m.: Niagara County has lifted its travel ban. It is now under a travel advisory. Niagara Falls, Lockport and North Tonawanda are also under travel advisories.

Sunday 7:50 a.m.: City of Niagara Falls is lifting its travel ban and moving to a travel advisory.

Sunday 7 a.m.: Blizzard Warning for Erie, Niagara, Genesee and Orleans Counties has expired. No travel bans have been lifted as of 7 a.m..

There are 31,779 households without power as of Sunday morning.

Saturday 9 p.m.: Total snow at the Buffalo airport reaches more than 34 inches.

Saturday 12:15 p.m.: The Buffalo Niagara International Airport's airfield will remain closed until Monday at 11 a.m.

Saturday 11:15 a.m.: The Diocese of Buffalo is asking churches to hold its Christmas masses via livestream if possible.

Saturday 10:00 a.m.: Niagara County announced more than a dozen warming shelters are available to residents there. View all warming shelters here.

Saturday 9:30 a.m.: Mayor Byron Brown reports hundreds of people used warming shelters in Buffalo overnight. People without power in the city are urged to stay in their homes.

Saturday 8:45 a.m.: Lackawanna is requesting assistance from volunteers with snowmobiles to help people who are stranded.

Saturday 8 a.m.: Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz reports two people have died in the Town of Cheektowaga because emergency services could not reach them in a medical emergency. Residents in the hardest hit areas, including the City of Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Kenmore and the Town of Tonawanda, Lancaster, Amherst, Clarence and Willimasville, are notified that emergency services are not available. A driving ban remains in effect for all of Erie County.

Plows in the county were not able to operate overnight due to conditions.

The Erie County Sheriff's Office reports it has deputies stranded in police vehicles. In addition, about 10 police vehicles have been temporarily abandoned.

Saturday 7:30 a.m.: Roads remain impassible throughout much of Western New York. Cheektowaga Police Department deployed search and rescue teams overnight to bring stranded drivers to safety.

Overnight, Governor Kathy Hochul announced 54 members of the National Guard were being deployed to Erie County to assist with emergency response.

Friday 7:20 p.m.: Orleans County announces state of emergency, travel ban previously issued at 1 p.m.

Friday 5 p.m.: The NFTA announced it will continue to suspend all Metro service including bus, rail and Paratransit for Saturday, December 24 due to dangerous weather conditions.

Friday 4:30 p.m.: Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said 911 has received around 400 calls per hour since noon, about nine calls per minute, and he said many are inappropriate for 911. Poloncarz said you should only call 911 if there is a life or death emergency. Ther county has set up a special line for non-emergency calls/emergency medications/dialysis/cancer treatment that can be reached at (716) 858-7669.

Friday 3:30 p.m.: The Town of Evans issued voluntary evacuations for: Lake Erie Beach, Grandview Bay, Purvis Landing, and Wendt Beach. Officials say this includes all the low-lying areas on the waterfront. Two warming locations are available — Lake Erie Beach Volunteer Fire Hall at 9483 Lakeshore Road in Angola and Highland Hose Volunteer Fire Hall at 1 George Nablo Pkwy in Derby. Officials say the town remains under a driving ban through Sunday.

Friday 2:30 p.m.: A travel ban is now in place in Niagara County until further notice. Travel bans are also in place in Erie and Genesee counties.

Friday 2 p.m.: The New York State Thruway is closed in both directions between Exit 46 and the Pennsylvania border, to all traffic. The Buffalo Niagara International Airport has shut down its airfield.All flights are canceled until further notice.

Friday 12:50 p.m.: Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced Erie County DPW is taking plows off the roads due to zero visibility.

Friday 12:30 p.m.: Chautauqua County announced a travel advisory is in place and there is a mandatory evacuation in place in the Towns of Hanover and Sheridan for the entire areas of Hanford Bay and Sunset Bay. A release says this includes all lakefront areas north of the railroad tracks. In addition, a mandatory evacuation is in effect within the Village of Silver Creek for properties along the Lake Erie shoreline only. County officials strongly urge residents who live directly along the Lake Erie shoreline in low-lying areas of City of Dunkirk and the Towns of Dunkirk, Pomfret, Portland, Ripley, and Westfield to evacuate. For those impacted by the mandatory evacuation, the Silver Creek High School on 1 Dickinson Street will be open at 11 a.m. on Friday as a shelter for anyone who may need it.

Friday 12:20 p.m.: The NYSDOT reports the Peace Bridge is closed to incoming traffic to the United States. DoorDash announced it has activated its Severe Weather Protocol and suspended operations across the following areas of Western New York — Buffalo, Albion, Springville, Gowanda, Angola, Collins.

Friday 10:45 a.m.: The highest recorded gust is more than 70 miles per hour, at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

Friday 10 a.m.: A travel advisory is in place for Wyoming County and Niagara County.

Friday 9:30 a.m.: The City of Buffalo, City of Tonawanda, City of Niagara Falls, City of North Tonawanda, and Village of Lancaster announced a driving ban is in place. A driving ban will also go into place in the Town and Village of Orchard Park at 6 p.m. Friday.

Friday 9 a.m.: Tops announces all of its stores in Erie County and Niagara County will close at 2 p.m.

Friday 8:50 a.m.: A driving ban will take effect for all of Erie County starting at 9:30 a.m.

Friday 8:30 a.m.: Cheektowaga Police Department reports Walden Galleria is closed Friday.

Friday 8 a.m.: Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz provided an 8 a.m. storm briefing update. As of Friday morning, there is a no unnecessary travel advisory for all of Erie County. While there is not a travel ban, the county is strongly recommending staying off the roads.

Friday 6:15 a.m.: Portions of the I-190, I-290, Route 5, Route 400, and Route 219 are closed. Detailed information is available in the Road Closures portion of this article.

Friday 6 a.m.: A commercial traffic ban is now in effect for the I-90 at Exit 46 to the New York-Pennsylvania border. A state of emergency for New York State has taken effect. States of emergency for Erie County, the City of Buffalo and other municipalities at 7 a.m. The next Erie County storm briefing is expected at 8 a.m.

Thursday 5:30 p.m.: The NFTA announced it will suspend all Metro service including bus, rail and Paratransit starting at 2 a.m. Friday.

Thursday 4:30 p.m.: The Village of Fredonia has issued a travel advisory that will begin at 7 a.m. Friday and last through 7 a.m. Monday. The Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, and Orleans County Courts will be conducting emergency operations virtually on Friday, physical access will be limited.

Thursday 2:30 p.m.: The New York State Thruway Authority announced commercial vehicles will be banned on the I-90 from exit 46 (Henrietta) to the PA line and on the I-190 beginning Friday at 6 a.m. Gov. Kathy Hochul also announced a statewide state of emergency will begin at 6 a.m. Friday.

Thursday 1:30 p.m.: Erie County announced it will open its Emergency Operations Center at 7 a.m. Friday. Although no official driving ban or travel advisory had been issued, officials urged motorists to stay off the roads. In addition, all Niagara County Government Offices will be closed Friday, and Chautauqua County Government offices will be closing early.

Thursday 12:30 p.m.: The City of Buffalo will be under a state of emergency beginning at 7 a.m. on Friday, Mayor Byron Brown announced in a storm briefing. City Hall will be closed on Friday.

Thursday 11:45 a.m.: Hoover Beach in Hamburg is under amandatory evacuation starting 8 p.m.Thursday, due to anticipated high winds and waves Friday. Residents were preparing for potential flooding conditions Wednesday.

Thursday 11 a.m.: The City of Buffalo will host a press briefing at 12:30 p.m., followed by an update from Erie County at 1 p.m. Both briefings will be available live on air and on WKBW's streaming services.

Thursday 9 a.m.: Buffalo Public Schools and more than a dozen other school districts announce they will be closed Friday. Get latest closings here.

Home Heating
National Fuel issued a safety alert Thursday reminding customers to make sure exhaust vents for heating and gas-powered appliances are free of snow and ice during the storm. Customers should also know the location of their gas meter and ensure that it is marked in order to keep it clear of snow blowers and snow plows.

Power Outages
National Grid customers can report an outage or check the status of an outage using the company's website.

Power Outages from National Grid as of 9:45 a.m. Thursday:

• Erie — 42
• Cattaraugus — 4

NYSEG customers can report an outage orcheck the status of an outage here.

Power Outages from NYSEG as of 9:45 a.m. Thursday:

• Erie — 1,700

Non-emergency line

Erie County residents can report serious but non-emergency situations related to the storm by calling 716-858-SNOW. Callers should still call 911 in an emergency.

Travel Bans and Advisories
The New York State Thruway Authority is issuing a commercial vehicle ban, to take effect at 6 a.m. on Friday.

Travel Advisory: Travel advisories remain in place.

Travel Ban: All travel bans have been lifted.

Road Closures

All roads have reopened.

Resource Links

• Weather alerts
• Closings
• Forecast links
• City of Buffalo live snow plow tracker
• Garbage and recycling changes