Early snow hits north-eastern US

Oct 13, 2006, 15:10 GMT

Washington - Schools were closed and some 300,000 area residents were without electricity Friday as the north-eastern US city of Buffalo, New York dug out of one of its earliest snowstorms on record, news reports said.

The autumn storm, fuelled by the warm waters of Lake Erie, knocked out power to at least 100,000 residents Thursday when the heavy snow snapped tree branches, damaging cars, homes and electrical lines, the Buffalo News reported.

The storm dumped up to 60 centimetres of snow in some areas, the US National Weather Service said. Niagara Mohawk, the utility company that serves the Buffalo area, said more than 280,000 customers were without power Friday.

Detroit, the US automotive capital at the other end of Lake Erie, was hit by its earliest snowfall since record-keeping began and the storm closed up to 160 miles of the main motorway through New York state, Fox News television said.

It was not the earliest October snowfall for Buffalo, a city of 290,000 near the Niagara Falls that is known for its heavy snowfalls.

But National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Hamilton told the Buffalo News, 'We've never had anything this potent this early.'

Buffalo Niagara International Airport lost power at 4:45 pm Thursday, switched to generators, then closed at mid-evening, the newspaper said.

Snow often causes electricity outages in the United States because power lines in residential areas are above-ground. Many Buffalo customers were expected to be without power through the weekend, the Buffalo News said.