BUFFALO, N.Y., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A winter storm that dumped more than four feet of snow on Buffalo by Tuesday evening is being blamed for at least four deaths, according to local officials.
Three people died after suffering heart attacks and a fourth was killed after being pinned between two cars after a crash, according to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
Calling the storm a knife that has cut through Erie County, Poloncarz told CNN: "I can't remember and I don't think anyone else can remember this much snow falling in this short a period."
Buffalo's most severe winter weather is typically the result of "lake effect" storms in which cold air travels eastward over the warm lake, but the current storm system has essentially parked itself in western New York and is expected to stay until at least Thursday.
By the time it is all over, the region could find itself buried under more than 90 inches of snow after another storm at the end of the week, forecasters said.
