United States. 60 centimeters of snow per day. It's still raining and a state of crisis has been introduced

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Buffalo reported Saturday morning that more than 60 centimeters of snow fell in 24 hours in Ripley, New York. This is just the beginning of the difficulties that the lake effect will bring to the northeastern United States. Approximately 185 centimeters of snow may fall during the rainfall forecast throughout the weekend.

– Remember that a LOT of snow has fallen since then, so there may be a lot more snow on the ground in your area – NWS experts added.

Winter weather warnings have been issued for the states of New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Some roads in the Great Lakes area are closed for the weekend, including sections of I-90 and I-86.

Some administrative units declared a state of crisis. In Erie County, Pennsylvania, authorities urged people to avoid travel as heavy snowfall could easily trap cars in the middle of the road. Such buried vehicles may not only become a death trap for drivers and passengers, but also block the path of emergency services.

– As lake effect snow reaches parts of western and central New York and the North Country (areas around the Adirondack Mountains and Lakes Champlain and Ontario), we are closely monitoring the situation and mobilizing resources. Together with our partners in local government, we are taking all necessary steps to protect New Yorkers and keep our communities safe, said New York Governor Kathy Hochul. It assigned 100 National Guard officers to help.

In western states such as California, Colorado and Utah, forecasters also forecast snowfall. And the northern Great Plains are bracing for extreme cold. Heavy frosts have hit North Dakota, with the wind chill reaching as low as -40 degrees Celsius.

Cold weather warnings were also issued for nine southern states, including Texas, Florida and North and South Carolina.

“This cold outbreak will be reminiscent of January and will come as a major shock to hundreds of millions of people who have become accustomed to warm conditions for much of the fall,” said AccuWeather chief meteorologist Paul Pastelok, quoted by Newsweek.

In a post on the social media site X, meteorologist Ryan Maue wrote Wednesday that about two-thirds of U.S. residents will feel cold or “freeze” this weekend.