Death Toll From Raging Winter Storms Rises to 63
CHRISTMAS TRAGEDY
The death toll from winter storms that swept across the U.S. over the holiday weekend has hit at least 63. Buffalo, New York, was the worst affected area, with Mayor Byron Brown describing the blizzard as “probably worse than anything that this city has seen in over 50 years.” He told MSNBC on Tuesday morning that the death toll there had risen to 35. It included a 22-year-old woman, Anndel Taylor, who was trapped in her car for 18 hours. “Everybody that tried to get to her got stuck, fire department, police, everybody got stuck,” her sister, Tomeshia Brown, told WSOC-TV. Buffalo was buried under 4 feet of snow over Christmas, leaving roads impassable, cutting power to some areas, and forcing officials to implement a driving ban. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said emergency workers were unable to “even go a few blocks” in some areas. Parts of western New York could see as much as 8 more inches of snow, according to a Tuesday forecast.