Flooding and possible collapsing roofs are the latest concern for residents of western New York after the region has been pounded with lake-effect snow since Tuesday.
USA Today reported that residents in and around Buffalo are now preparing for the threat of “urban flooding” as rain and warmer temperatures are expected in the area.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the metropolitan area from Sunday through Wednesday.
"There's roughly the equivalent of six inches of rain in the snowpack that will essentially be released over two days," Deputy Erie County Executive Richard Tobe said. "If it was released as rain it would be a monumental storm."
As previously reported, the days-long snowstorm shut down roadways, left people stranded and crippled several towns and villages when around 7 feet fell in the region.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that a 132-mile stretch of the New York State Thruway, which has been closed since Tuesday, will reopen at 3 p.m. Friday, with some restrictions.
At least a dozen deaths and 90 small roof collapses so far have been blamed on the year’s first snowstorm.