A winter storm that has killed at least 25 people in western New York was dubbed the "blizzard of the century" today by the state's governor, who warned the dangerous snow, wind and frigid temperatures were far from over.
At least 47 deaths have been reported across nine US states.
"Certainly it is the blizzard of the century," Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters, adding it was "way too early to say this is at its completion," with more snow forecast for today and some communities getting inundated with more than one metre (three feet) of new snow overnight.
In Buffalo, New York, road and utility crews faced the task today of digging out and restoring some normality as the blizzard buried snow plows and stranded motorists in cars.
The lethal blizzard took form late on Friday and pummeled western New York through the Christmas holiday weekend, capping an Arctic freeze and winter storm front that had extended over most of the United States for days, as far south as the Mexican border.
The greater Buffalo region, lying at the edge of Lake Erie near the Canadian border was one of the hardest-hit places.
Numbing cold combined with howling winds and heavy "lake-effect" snow - the result of moisture picked up by frigid air moving over warmer lake waters - produced a storm that Governor Hochul said would go down in history as "the Blizzard of '22".
The storm's official death toll in Buffalo and elsewhere in Erie County was expected to rise as more bodies found in snow drifts or buried vehicles were examined and confirmed as weather-related fatalities, authorities said.
The governor called it an "epic, once-in-a-lifetime" weather disaster that ranked as the fiercest winter storm to hit Buffalo, New York state's second-largest city, since a crippling 1977 blizzard that killed nearly 30 people.
Despite a ban on road travel imposed since Friday, hundreds of Erie County motorists were stranded in their vehicles over the weekend, with National Guard troops mobilised to help with rescues hindered by blinding white-out conditions.
Authorities were expected to decide today whether to extend the ban.
County Chief Executive Mark Poloncarz told reporters that snow drifts as high as eight feet on roadways were too thick and heavy to clear with conventional snow-removal equipment.
Many snow plows, tow trucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles dispatched on Christmas Eve and yesterday became stuck in the snow, "and we had to send rescue missions to rescue the rescuers," he said.
The Buffalo police department posted an online plea to the public for assistance, asking those who "have a snow mobile and are willing to help" to call a hotline for instructions.
Although power had been restored to most Erie County utility customers, as of yesterday evening about 15,000 homes remained without electricity, according to Mr Poloncarz.
He said one electrical substation knocked offline was sealed off by an 18-foot-tall mound of snow, and utility crews found the entire facility frozen inside.
At the request of state officials, Ms Hochul said, local power companies had pre-positioned some 7,000 utility workers ahead of the storm on Friday, but blinding, drifting snow had made it difficult for crews to reach stricken equipment.
Efforts to clear snow-clogged roads were likewise stymied.
"It is not a matter of resources - bodies and equipment - it is a matter of mobility and access," Ms Hochul said.
She told reporters yesterday that the government had agreed to support her request for a federal disaster declaration and she expected formal approval shortly.
While the official blizzard warning for the greater Buffalo region was lifted yesterday, officials warned that blizzard-like conditions persisted in some areas, and that more snow was in the forecast through to tomorrow.
