The skies have mostly cleared across Western New York after several days of snow. But for road crews, the work isn’t letting up.

“Unless the road is dry, we are still out on patrol,” said David Unverdorben, a plow driver with the New York Thruway Authority.

Unverdorben is one of the dozens of drivers responsible for clearing the Thruway between the Hamburg interchange and mile-marker 409, a stretch of 27 miles.

On sunny, cold days after consistent snowfall, plow drivers’ priorities include clearing drifts and treating possible patches of black ice.

To make things easier and safer the rest of the season, Unverdorben urges drivers to give plows space and not to merge in between them if they’re traveling together.

Snowfall is expected to remain in the Southtowns and ski country Wednesday, returning to Buffalo and the Northtowns later and into Thursday. 

That means more snow across Western New York, where some localities are already living with up to two feet of it, and still a week to go before winter officially begins.

"The weight of it sort of just threw them off and just sort of misaligned them. So they had to be sent back in to realign them. They worked all day and all night," said Geoffrey Szymanski, (D) Lackawanna mayor.

That has slowed down plow progress clearing roads, especially the side streets. Even under ideal circumstances, it would take seven or eight hours for fully staffed crews to get to every street in the city of Lackawanna.

"I'm trying to get out. I get stuck every time I try to get past,” said Lackawanna resident Annette Brown. A nearby business owner helped her out by snow blowing the street.

Stephanie Knott, a Lackawanna resident added, "The side roads are horrible. I got stuck pulling off my road taking my 5-year-old to school. The roads around the school were not. I should not have gotten stuck when our kids are going to those schools. They're babies."

Mayor Szymanski responded to complaints saying, "Because we were told we were going to get two feet of snow two nights ago... We were also told we were going to get two feet of snow three years ago, and we got seven. We just decided to go into disaster mode and keep the mains and secondaries open first and then pursue the side streets. If anyone is inconvenienced, bear with us. We will get to you. But for the most part, every street is open and passable."

City officials are also reminding everyone to shovel the sidewalk in front of their homes and businesses.

The sentiment is a little different in East Aurora, where there's nearly two feet of snow on the ground and more on the way.

The owners of the Aurora Sewing Center have put their love of winter weather on their windows with a play on a favorite Christmas song.

“It’s perfect, let it sew and we love the snow,” said Karie Coffey, one of the store’s employees.

"The weather is perfect for sewing," said customer and Lancaster resident Eileen Kisicki. “You just look out and say I don’t have to go anywhere and then you turn on the sewing machine.”

Down in the southtowns, in the village of Mayville, 21 inches of snow has been recorded so far this season.

Dozens of road crews have been out salting and plowing snow-covered sections of Chautauqua County nonstop since Sunday morning.

County Executive Vince Horrigan is urging drivers to use extreme caution in the rapidly changing weather conditions, as area law enforcement responded to a number of minor accidents.

"Reaction time is the name of the game, as I say. Having that extra time, extra stopping distance, if you go to turn left. There’s a chance that you may lose grip with your wheels so you may be sliding out a little bit. Be prepared for that,” Horrigan (R) said.