As the worst of Winter Storm Elliott moves on, authorities in Erie County, New York are continuing to clear roads and check on residents who may have been isolated during the catastrophic weather system. The death toll in the county has now risen to 37, with at least 25 others reported dead in 11 US states.
At least 62 people have died in weather-related incidents across the nation.
In Erie County, officials are going door-to-door to conduct wellness checks, with an Emergency Medical Services task force checking locations of emergency calls that authorities were unable to reach during the storm. The National Guard will also be spending the next few days checking every house in neighborhoods that lost power.
The storm brought almost 52 inches of snow to the city of Buffalo, causing widespread power outages and trapping many residents at home without heat over the Christmas weekend. Authorities are urging residents to stay off the roads to allow for the delivery of fuel to emergency crews and grocery supplies to markets.
Temperatures are expected to rise, leading to minimal snowfall on Tuesday and improved weather conditions. However, officials have warned that the warmer weather could cause flooding as snow begins to melt.
In response to the power outages caused by the extreme weather, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other North American regulatory authorities have announced that they will be opening an inquiry. FERC will work alongside the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and its six regional entities, which cover nearly 400 million customers, mainly in the US and Canada, to identify performance issues and recommend solutions.
While the majority of outages were caused by weather impacts on electric distribution facilities, some local utilities in the US southeast resorted to rolling blackouts and the bulk-power system elsewhere came under pressure.