Heavy snow blankets parts of the U.S. on busy holiday travel weekend

BUFFALO, N.Y. —  The first big snowfall of the season is blanketing towns along Lake Erie in upstate New York and northwestern Pennsylvania in the middle of the hectic holiday travel and shopping weekend, while numbing cold and heavy snow could persist into next week and cause hazards in the Great Lakes, Plains and Midwest regions.

The heavy snow has led to an emergency declaration in parts of New York state and a disaster declaration in Pennsylvania, with officials warning of dangerous conditions for Thanksgiving travelers trying to return home.

“Travel will be extremely difficult and hazardous this weekend, especially in areas where multiple feet of snow may accumulate very quickly,” the National Weather Service said Saturday.

Parts of major roadways in Pennsylvania and New York were closed Saturday. Nearly 2 feet of snow fell in parts of New York, Ohio and Michigan, and even more was recorded in Pennsylvania’s northwestern tip.

The roads in parts of northwestern Pennsylvania became so impassable early Saturday that scores of people took refuge overnight in the lobby and hallways of a booked Holiday Inn hotel near Interstate 90. Jeremiah Weatherley, a hotel staff member, said people rolled in as snow piled up, with workers opening the hotel’s conference room and giving people blankets so they could sleep on the floors.

“It was hard to manage but we had no choice,” he said. “They just showed up, and we don’t want to turn people away.”

This week’s blast of frigid Arctic air also brought bitterly cold temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees below average to the northern Plains, the weather service said.

Parts of Michigan were battered by the heavy lake-effect snow, which happens when warm moist air rising from a body of water mixes with cold dry air overhead. Bands of snow that have been rolling off Lake Superior for three days had buried parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula under 2 feet or more of snow by noon Saturday, said Lily Chapman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Marquette, Mich., office.

The record snowfall that included 24.8 inches in Gaylord, Mich., was good news for Treetops Resort before its opening next weekend, said Doug Hoeh, the ski resort’s director of recreation.

“Obviously when you get that much snowfall it’s great for the snow hills but it’s bad for the parking lots, so we’re kind of digging out. But we’re close to being ready to pull the trigger on skiing, and the natural snowfall definitely helps,” Hoeh said.

In Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a proclamation of disaster emergency. He said parts of Erie County in northwestern Pennsylvania had already received nearly 3 feet of snow, with more expected through Monday night. Pennsylvania State Police responded to nearly 200 incidents from 6 a.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday, officials said.

Associated Press writers Thompson reported from Buffalo and Izaguirre from Lindenhurst, N.Y. AP writers John Wawrow in Orchard Park, N.Y.; Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Ron Todt in Philadelphia and Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.