Power outages were nearly all restored by Christmas morning across the Finger Lakes and Central New York after damaging winds and frigid temperatures wreaked havoc in the lead-up to the holiday.
At one point during the peak of damaging winds, which saw 60-75 mph wind gusts clocked across the region, there were more than 25,000 without power.
Blizzard conditions continued into the night Christmas Eve in Western New York, where Governor Kathy Hochul said the National Guard was deployed. Even the Guard struggled responding, though, as conditions were simply too extreme to rescue those who were stranded or suffering from medical emergencies at their homes.
In fact, conditions were so extreme in Erie County that first responders were forced to stop taking calls for service for hours on Saturday.
Conditions gradually began improving on Christmas Day, but the Christmas Blizzard of 2022 will be remembered for years as one of the most-extreme winter weather events in Buffalo.
At least three people died as result of the storm.
“New Yorkers are used to winter storms, but this one packed a punch and caused complete whiteout conditions in Western New York however, additional help is on the way,” Governor Hochul said. “Our state agency personnel and local emergency responders have been coordinating throughout the storm and we thank them for being away from their families this holiday weekend as they work to keep our communities safe. Please stay home today if you are in areas experiencing blizzard like conditions and know that roads will be icy across the state as we continue to experience freezing temperatures in the teens and single digits.”
Hochul deployed more than 50 soldiers from the New York National Guard to assist New Yorkers facing emergencies and unable to travel. The Governor surged additional assets and personnel from numerous state agencies involved in the emergency response to assist these efforts and remove stranded motorists from their vehicles.
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