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BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Part of western New York State is covered by three feet of lake-effect snow -- and it's forced the closure of a 132-mile stretch of the state Thruway. Forecasters say the storm has been dumping three to four inches of snow per hour.
In a region that's used to snowstorms, this one is being called one of the worst in recent memory. At one point, officials told the Buffalo News, nearly half of the snow plows in the town of West Seneca were bogged down in heavy snow. In Hamburg, police cars were getting stuck in the deep snow.
The Erie County executive says some main highways are "basically parking lots."
Lancaster, east of Buffalo, reported three and a-half feet of snow by 9 a.m. The waist-high snow is being blown by strong winds.
State troopers had to use ATVs to deliver blankets and other emergency supplies to motorists stranded on the Thruway overnight.
%@AP Links
171-a-13-(Mark Wipperman, Erie County undersheriff, in interview)-"calls or incidents"-Erie County Undersheriff Mark Wipperman says staffing is being beefed up to handle any special needs resulting from the snowstorm. COURTESY: WIVB ((mandatory on-air credit)) (18 Nov 2014)
<<CUT *171 (11/18/14)££ 00:13 "calls or incidents"
028-a-16-(Bruce Sullivan, meteorologist, National Weather Service, in AP interview)-"to mid thirties"-National Weather Service meteorologist Bruce Sullivan says unusually cold temperatures are arriving in the eastern U.S. (18 Nov 2014)
<<CUT *028 (11/18/14)££ 00:16 "to mid thirties"
APPHOTO RPCT103: Heavy snow covers the street on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 in Buffalo, N.Y., Parts of New York are measuring the season's first big snowfall in feet, rather than inches, as nearly 3 feet blanketed the Buffalo area Tuesday, forcing the closure of a 105-mile stretch of the state Thruway. The National Weather Service says a foot to almost 3 feet of snow has fallen on areas south and east of the city. (AP Photo/ Carolyn Thompson) (18 Nov 2014)
<<APPHOTO RPCT103 (11/18/14)££
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