Winter storm Elliott – latest: Driving ban lifted in Buffalo as blizzard deaths hit 38

Buffalo region worst affected in US with at least 38 deaths after blizzard dumped 50 inches of snow on city

‘Dangerous situation’ in Buffalo as storm kills dozens across US

One of the coldest Christmases in modern memory has left more than 60 people dead across the US, with 38 people killed in and around the city of Buffalo, which was hammered by over 50 inches of snow.

Nearly a week after the extreme blizzard, the driving ban in Buffalo was lifted on Thursday, although motorists have been advised to be careful around snow-removal equipment and at intersections.

“Hundreds of very large pieces of equipment will still be out clearing streets from curb-to-curb,” Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz warned in a tweet.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Poloncarz confirmed three additional deaths, marking the deadliest storm in western New York in at least two generations.

National Guard went door to door conducting welfare checks in neighbourhoods that lost electricity. As the city continues to dig out of the storm, the death toll is expected to climb further.

Beyond New York state, winter storm Elliott’s icy bite also saw temperatures plunge to record lows in parts of Montana, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming, and wrought havoc on Christmas travel plans.

Key Points

• Buffalo officials raise death toll to 38
• Buffalo lifts driving ban from midnight
• At least 56 people dead and 20,000 flights affected in winter storm
• PHOTOS: Snow and freezing temperatures hit US
• Mayor slams ‘lowest of the low’ looters in Buffalo

[29 December 2022 11:02 · Graeme Massie]

ICYMI: Buffalo woman dies in blizzard after sending video to family

A 22-year-old woman died in the historic Buffalo blizzard after she sent a chilling final video to her family on her way home from work.

Anndel Taylor was driving home on Friday afternoon when her car got stranded in the snow.

She remained trapped inside the car for around 18 hours while Winter Storm Elliot raged on all around her, her family said.

During those terrifying hours, she told her family she was “scared” and sent two videos capturing the extreme weather condition.

Rachel Sharp reports.

[29 December 2022 12:03 · Graeme Massie]

'Outdated' software blamed for Southwest meltdown

ICYMI: What exactly went wrong at Southwest Airlines? Union leaders are blaming outdated software that has allegedly been threatening chaos like this for years.

According to the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), much of the trouble is due to an automated crew scheduling system called SkySolver, which was reportedly built in 2010.

Southwest operates with a "point to point" strategy that is distinct from the "hub and spoke" model of other airlines. Instead of planes and staff returning to one big hub airport between trips, they often fly between smaller airports in a long chain.

Hence, the airline depends on a complex geographical dance in which pilots and crew must arrive at each airport in good time for their next scheduled flight. If too many are delayed, the flight cannot legally operate, causing cascading faults as each group of crew members fails to reach their marks in time.

But SWAPA vice president Mike Santoro told The Fort Worth Star-Telegramthat SkySolver can only handle up to 200 scheduling changes at a time, meaning it has been completely overwhelmed this Christmas.

“The problem is the software just doesn’t keep track of us,” Mr Santoro told Insider. “When we get out of position, it’s a tough task for our schedulers to put it back together, and right now they’re having to do it by hand.”

That has left staff stranded in hotels while they wait to be reassigned or blocked from working because the computer system does not recognise that they're available.

The Wall Street Journal reports that some employees have waited on hold for hours trying to get through to human schedulers on the phone, sometimes exceeding their number of allowed hours on the job. "We have crews stuck, and scheduling doesn’t know where they are," SWAPA head Casey Murray told the outlet.

In one situation, Mr Santoro recounted, there were Southwest flight attendants travelling as passengers on board a plane that was short on staff, who were ready and willing to work. But because the scheduling system did not know where they were, and they could not reach the scheduling team, they could not be reassigned and the plane could not legally fly.

In a letter to union members on Monday, Mr Murray said the company had ignored his group's warnings about “numerous and ever-increasing meltdowns", saying: "Even with the correct number of pilots on any given day, the house of cards falls, and fall it does with ever-increasing frequency and severity."

[29 December 2022 13:00 · Graeme Massie]

‘Karma owes us big time’: How winter storm Elliott sowed death and disruption across the US

ICYMI: At least 72 people have been killed across the US and Canada as of Wednesday afternoon.

Io Dodds has the details.

[29 December 2022 14:00 · Alisha Rahaman Sarkar]

National Guard troops check for unaccounted victims

National Guard troops went door-to-door yesterday looking for winter storm victims who may be unaccounted for in parts of Buffalo, hit by prolonged power outages.

Many of the dead in and around Buffalo, which lies at the western edge of Lake Erie near the Canadian border, were found frozen in cars or in snowbanks, while some died from cardiac arrest while shovelling snow, according to Mark Poloncarz, the Erie County executive.

Mr Poloncarz said the National Guard was conducting wellness checks in each neighbourhood of Buffalo and its suburbs where electricity was out for lengthy periods.

“We are fearful there are individuals who may have perished living alone, or two people who are not doing well in an establishment, especially those who still don’t have power,” he told reporters.

[29 December 2022 15:00 · Alisha Rahaman Sarkar]

Family shelters stranger’s body after her death

A couple in Buffalo, New York, looked after the body of a stranger who collapsed and died outside their home on Christmas Eve during the extreme blizzard.

Antwaine Parker said he will always be in debt to the couple - David Purdy and Cassieopia Layhee - for trying to save his mother’s life and sheltering her body for an entire day.

“They’re two beautiful people. They didn’t have to let me in,” Mr Parker told Buffalo News.

“I had to thank Dave and Cassie, two strangers I’ve never seen in my life, never met. They allowed my mother to rest in peace on their living room floor.”

[29 December 2022 15:30 · Alisha Rahaman Sarkar]

Authorities preparing for potential flooding, says governor

New York governor Kathy Hochul yesterday said authorities are preparing for potential flooding due to melting snow as the temperature begins to rise following an extreme blizzard.

“We have nearly 800,000 sandbags and more than 300 pumps and generators ready to deploy,” she said in a tweet.

“We will continue to work closely with local partners to help communities recover.”