The next hazardous phase of the historic blizzard in Buffalo, New York could potentially involve treacherous flooding amid weekend weather forecasts of that same area experiencing temperatures of approximately 50 degrees.
But local officials are prepared for such a consequence, with water pumps and sandbags on full standby mode.
The weather advisories suggest "flooding will be minimal," said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
The death toll in Erie County alone has increased to 39, according to local officials. And that doesn't include people who are still reported as "missing" or unaccounted for in western New York.
"We still have a ways to go," said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. "But we have come a long way in just a couple of days."
Compound that '39' figure with at least 25 other deaths across 11 other states — with the majority of people reportedly killed in traffic wrecks or by the bitter cold — and it's been a devastating week for emergency officials and American families in various regions.
"It's a grueling, gruesome task that they had to do," said Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia, while noting his team has followed up on roughly 1,100 backlogged welfare check and 911 calls. "They recovered a substantial amount of bodies, and it's terrible."
Poloncarz echoed a similar sentiment, saying, "the stories are heartbreaking, just heartbreaking."
Within this ongoing emergency situation, public questions are being broached about the timing of Erie County's driving ban — enacted at 9:30 a.m. last Friday — and whether officials had discussed issuing it earlier.
Poloncarz said that area first discussed a potential ban last Thursday, two days before Christmas Eve.
Around that time, Poloncarz explained there was an "expectation" that a major snow band wouldn't reach Erie County until 10 a.m. Friday.
Poloncarz then acknowledged Erie County officials were hesitant to institute a driving ban before 7 a.m., since third-shift workers driving in below-freezing temperatures still needed to get at home.
The cold subsequently swept through Erie County "dramatically," lamented Poloncarz. "The snow really went from rain, to sleet, to snow in a matter of less than five minutes."
Then, around 10 a.m. Friday — or after the ban was issued — the whiteout conditions ravaged Erie County.
"We can look back at it now and say, 'Yeah, maybe we wish we had done it an hour or two beforehand.' But in the end ... the buck stops with me. ... And if it wasn't right, then I'm going to have to take responsibility for it," said Poloncarz.
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