Rescue missions are underway to save first responders left helpless after becoming trapped while in Storm Elliott, which has killed at least 50 people around the US. Ambulances and fire trucks have also been left stranded in blizzard conditions as thousands of calls for help have been made to emergency services.
Upstate New York, including the city of Buffalo, has been paralysed, with 25 killed following 43 inches of snowfall and temperatures as low as minus 10.
Erie County – in which Buffalo is located – has enforced a driving ban for all residents and local firefighters have been unable to respond to call outs due to impassable roads.
At least 200 National Guard members are on the ground in Western New York, doing wellness checks, delivering food to shelters and relieving the first responders.
Additional hundreds of members of the National Guard would be deployed on Monday and the federal government is expected to grant a disaster declaration for the area very shortly.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said first responders themselves needed rescue as the city was buffeted with as much as 43 inches of snow.
“For nearly 12 hours it was impossible to go anywhere in a vast majority of the community,” he said.
“This is an area that has approximately half a million residents between the city of Buffalo and some of our suburbs.
“It was such that we had to pull emergency rescue vehicles off the roads.”
He added to CNN: “We had to send search and rescue teams, those who are trains for these very bad winter conditions, to go and rescue first responders who went out to these emergency calls.
“So now we’re getting to a point where we’re trying to open up additional roads, so we can get to those individuals who may have had an emergency call we haven’t been able to get to.”
READ MORE: America in grip of -10C freeze as 28 die in snowstorm
Mr Poloncarz also added in a separate statement that he expected the White House to issue a disaster declaration on Monday, which would help the region cover the huge expense of storm rescue and recovery.
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul – a native of Buffalo – also said in a statement: “This is a war with mother nature and she has been hitting us with everything she has.
“This will go down in history as Buffalo’s most devastating storm.
“It is [like] going to a war zone and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking.”
Residents still faced a “very dangerous life-threatening situation” and anyone in the area should remain indoors, she said.
The blizzard, deemed the area’s worst in 45 years, took hold late on Friday and pummelled western New York through the Christmas holiday weekend.
At least 25 people have died due to Storm Elliott, making it of the worst weather-related disasters in the region’s history.
As much as 43 inches of snow has fallen in the region, with wind speeds of 48mph at Buffalo Airport on Friday.
Buffalo also saw lows of 3F overnight on Friday, while the western US state of Montana is the worst hit by the cold, with temperatures dropping to -50F (-45C).
The nationwide death toll is now thought to be at least 55, according to an NBC News tally, with 48 deaths confirmed, including 25 in New York state.
Meanwhile, Florida saw its coldest Christmas in 33 years as a result of Storm Elliott, according to the National Weather Service.
The Sunshine State saw lows between 17F and 24F on Christmas Day, which does not beat out the cold wave of 1983 but comes close.
On Friday, the National Weather Service said: “Wind chills will still bottom out in the 20s and low 30s Monday and Tuesday morning for most locations in the South outside of south Florida.”
