Nonstop snow buries Buffalo, New York

Amalia Trelles shovels snow from her car during a major lake effect snowstorm in Buffalo, New York.

BUFFALO, New York (CNN) -- After a nearly flakeless autumn, Buffalo has been socked with more than 6 feet of snow since Christmas Eve -- and it's not over yet.

Friday's snow buried the old record for a single month in Buffalo, with 73.3 inches on the ground in the past four days and another six to 12 inches predicted before Sunday.

The city's previous record, set in December 1985, was 68.4 inches, said the National Weather Service, whose local office was functioning with a skeleton staff.

Blinding snow eased early Friday, but resumed with full force late in the morning when the wind shifted direction.

Buffalo Niagara International Airport and City Hall were shut Thursday night, and bus service was suspended, a spokesman for Mayor Anthony Masiello said.

VIDEO CNN's Holly Firfer wades into the drifts to report on the extreme snowfall in Buffalo, New York (December 28) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   RESOURCES Photo gallery: Buffalo snow  Interactive: How "lake effect" snow forms    EXTRA INFORMATION On the Scene: Buffalo suffers 'Erie' effects    Buffalo's top 10 snowfalls since 1890, in inches, during a 24-hour period: 1. 37.9 - Dec. 9-10, 1995 2. 35.4 - Dec. 27-28, 2001 3. 25.3 - Jan. 10-11, 1982 4. 25.2 - Dec. 24-25, 2001 5. 24.9 - Nov. 20-21, 2000 6. 24.3 - Dec. 15-16, 1945 7. 20.1 - Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 1979 8. 19.9 - Nov. 28-29, 1955 9. 19.4 - Feb. 27-28, 1984 10. 19 - Nov. 30, 1976 (tie) 10. 19 - March 17, 1936 (tie) ------ Source: National Weather Service

A state of emergency has been declared and a ban on private vehicles was ordered.

Area malls were closed Friday, though some pharmacies and supermarkets -- and at least one pizzeria promising delivery -- remained open.

Heavy 'lake effect' snows

Snow in western New York around Christmas is not unusual, but "this is a little more than we expected," said Erie County Executive Joel Giambra.

Forecasters said one reason for the heavy snowfall is that the Great Lakes remain warm and unfrozen because of the warm fall. That resulted in heavy "lake effect" snows.

"This is the mother of all 'lake-effect' snows," said Tom Niziol, scientific operations officer at the National Weather Service's forecast office in Buffalo. "It's like putting a hose in Lake Erie and sweeping the region with lots of snow."

Plows from nearby Rochester and Lewiston were aiding the removal effort, and members of the National Guard were expected Friday afternoon.

But the sheer quantity of the snow means plows cannot simply shove it to the side, as they usually do, he said. Instead, they are loading it onto trucks and driving it out of town, which slows the effort.

With highways into and out of Buffalo closed, about 80 truckers parked in a rest stop in Pembroke, 23 miles east, and waited.

The snow has been falling so heavily -- up to 4 inches per hour -- that the plows were having a tough time keeping up, said National Weather Service meteorologist Stan Levine, who lives five miles from the airport. Many of his coworkers were unable to make it to work, he told CNN.

Despite the heavy downfall, little wind means that snow drifts are not high, he said.

Meanwhile, the city is coping. Main and secondary roads are open and emergency vehicles are able to navigate the streets.

"It's not gridlock; we're not paralyzed," Giambra said. "There's been no fatalities, no major incidents so far. We'll just keep praying that that's the case."

The timing was fortuitous, in that most people were off from work and schools were shut for the holiday. "We caught a break," Giambra said.