Western New York bore the brunt of a massive snowstorm Tuesday, which dumped about six feet of snow in some areas and left at least six people dead.
The storm caught some drivers by surprise, forcing them to ride out the worst of the
storm in their vehicles, The Associated Press reported. A second storm is due on Thursday and expected to bring two to three more feet of snow to the Western New York area.
Many people were stranded in storm, which blew together snowdrifts as
high as houses, The New York Times reported.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency, and National Guard members worked to rescue those stranded in the storm.
Niagara University women's basketball team spent nearly 30 hours on the team bus after becoming stranded on the New York Thruway.
Officials estimated that snow totals would approach six feet in some areas south of Buffalo.
"This is a very extreme event," Shawn Smith, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Buffalo, told The Times. "It basically crippled all the towns south of Buffalo."
Twitter users sent support and well wishes to those snowed-in in Buffalo.