BUFFALO, N.Y. — Patience. That’s the word of the day when it comes to digging out from the Western New York lake-effect snowstorm.
During an update Monday morning, Erie County officials said roads are once again making an appearance after being covered by feet of snow. However, there is still plenty of work to be done.
“We need to bring in high lifts," said Karen Hoak, deputy commissioner of Erie County public works. "We also need to bring in dump trucks, they are needed to move large heavy loads of wet snow that we're getting out of the streets that have been blocked. It's much slower than just bringing up plowing.”
There was also big news on Monday, a FEMA emergency declaration was approved. That means funding can help reimburse places impacted by the storm.
The emergency declaration covers the following counties:
- Cattaraugus
- Chautauqua
- Erie
- Genesee
- Jefferson
- Lewis
- Niagara
- Oneida
- Oswego
- St. Lawrence
- Wyoming
"I thank President Biden for immediately granting our emergency declaration request and for our ongoing strong partnership as well as Senator Schumer for his assistance in securing relief for New Yorkers," said Governor Kathy Hochul. "My team and I will continue working around the clock to keep everyone safe, help communities dig out, and secure every last dollar to help rebuild and recover from this unprecedented, record-shattering historic winter storm."
“What we have to do now is work with our partners and the towns and villages and cities, get the tight end all of the information whether it happens to be there any out of pocket costs that over and above what they do in the day to day operations,” said Dan Neaverth, Erie County commissioner of emergency services.
In the meantime, things are starting to get back to normal.
Stranded cars that were towed to the McKinley Mall are beginning to get picked up. Meanwhile, the typical snow safety reminders continue.
“We've had many instances where people are driving down the road," said Neaverth. "This is no exaggeration with regards to the amount of snow we know that's on the roofs of the vehicles.”
While most travel bans were lifted, advisories are still in place, and the region remains in a state of emergency. So if you don’t need to drive around, don’t.
“I don't think there's anybody in this emergency operation center, anybody at the state level or any of the towns or villages that wants to keep that in place," Neaverth said. "But, you know, again, it's just a good reminder to people that things are not 100% yet.”
If your car was towed by the county during the storm, you can find information on how to pick it up by clicking here.
For cars towed in the city, you’ll have to reach out to the police of the district where the car was stuck.