DHAKA: The folks in Buffalo are quite used to bad weather, but Tuesday night they were enduring a brutal trifecta of inclement conditions: unusually cold temperatures, high winds and almost another foot of snow.
It was so bad the Buffalo Sabres NHL team did something they haven`t done since 2000: They told their fans to stay home and postponed their game at the First Niagara Center, reports CNN.
A blizzard warning is in effect for three counties until 6 a.m., forecasters said, and CNN affiliate WIVB reported one wind gust of 51 mph. There were also flood warnings in some areas because of broken water mains.
During an afternoon news conference, Erie County officials told residents to stay off the roads and said there was a significant number of road closures. Officials said it would be Wednesday afternoon at the earliest before most roads would be cleared.
But in a small bit of good news, part of Lake Erie was frozen over, meaning the lake-effect snow system pulled less moisture and snowfall amounts were significantly lower than first feared. Still, one area of Buffalo had 14 inches of new snow Tuesday, WIVB said.
The Sabres said their game against the Carolina Hurricanes would be played at a date yet to be determined.
Across the nation, many cities were still dealing with the effects of a polar vortex that dropped lower than normal and brought below-freezing temperatures to many states, including Florida.
And, unfortunately, the cold weather was also being blamed for one new death from hypothermia, authorities said Tuesday.
New York City saw a record low for the date. It was just four degrees in Central Park, breaking a record of six set in 1896.
That`s not quite as bad as the all-time low of 15 below zero in 1934. But with the wind chill, temperatures still felt well below zero -- a 69-degree drop from Monday, when the weather was a relatively sultry 50 degrees with wind chill.
Temperatures plummeted below freezing somewhere in all 50 states Tuesday morning -- most, but not all, due to the arctic blast hovering like an ice chest, according to CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen.
In Florida, despite the low temperatures, crops were not damaged, the state`s Fruit and Vegetable Association told CNN.
Authorities have blamed at least 16 deaths on the cold so far, including 11 from traffic accidents and three involving hypothermia. A spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner`s office in Illinois said Tuesday that one person had died as a result of the extreme cold.
And animals are suffering and dying, too. CNN affiliate WISH reported seven dogs froze to death near Indianapolis after being left outside, according to Marion County, Indiana, animal care officials.
At Chicago`s Lincoln Park Zoo, Anana -- a polar bear who never grew the thick layer of fat that bears in the Arctic do -- had to be brought inside Monday. And at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, bald eagles and African penguins, "who are used to temperate climates," were taken off exhibit until the weather warms up, the facility reported.
BDST: 1341 HRS, JAN 08, 2014
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