BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo's Department of Public Works has been out in full force since early Thursday morning after a record snowfall hit in the span of roughly 12 hours, creating quite the challenge for field crews.
"Having that amount of snow hit, especially the central business district first thing this morning, it was was certainly a challenge," DPW commissioner Michael Finn says.
"But we've been out there and all across the city, working on addressing the snow. And we're going to be continuing to, especially with the with the band coming back."
Thursday's snow storm is the first official lake effect snow storm of the season, after a relatively green holiday season.
When asked why the delay in getting to residential streets, Finn tells 2 On Your Side his crews have to adjust to Mother Nature.
"There was close to 12 inches that fell in a very short period of time," Finn said. "The city's unique in that our responsibility extends to main, secondaries, and residentials. And in comparison to many suburbs, where the mains and secondaries are the responsibility of the state and the county and the local town or village, we have it all."
With more snow expected to continue through the night, Finn says he's hopeful things move south so crews can continue to clear priority streets quickly and get back to residential streets as soon as possible.
"This is all really dependent on how much more snow we're going to get this evening," Finn emphasized.
The plan for Friday morning, he explained, is again heavily dependent on how much traffic, how many accidents and how much snow continues to fall. Collectively, these three things make it difficult to plow.
If you are snowed in and or have an emergency, call the city's 311 number or 911 for assistance.