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In Western New York, Death Toll from Winter Storm Continues to Climb

The death toll in Western New York from the punishing winter storm continued to climb, with seven more fatalities reported by the mayor of Buffalo’s office on Tuesday morning.

In all, more than 30 people have been reported dead in Erie and Niagara Counties from the region’s most severe blizzard in recent memory.

“They have been found a number of different ways,” said Mike DeGeorge, the spokesman for the Buffalo mayor’s office. “They have been found in stranded vehicles, they have been found on sidewalks, near street corners, some have been found in snowbanks. some have been found because some have been without power since the storm began.”

The city has seen light snow over the past two days, as conditions have lessened from the blizzard that blanketed the region over the weekend, Mr. DeGeorge said.

“As I look outside the window, it’s clear and it’s not snowing,” he said on Tuesday morning.

Cleanup efforts to clear the roads are “well underway,” Mr. DeGeorge said, with crews working to clear main roads, as well as secondary and residential roads. Crews are also working to remove all abandoned vehicles from the roads.

Still, an additional 3 to 5 inches of snow was expected in the region on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The travel ban in Buffalo remained in place on Tuesday morning, though it was reduced to an advisory in the nearby community of Cheektowaga, Mark Poloncarz, the Erie County executive, announced.

About 4,000 people in Buffalo are still without power, Mr. DeGeorge said. The number of households without power in the city over the weekend was as high as 20,000, he added.

The Buffalo Niagara International Airport and all county offices in Erie County remained closed on Tuesday.

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