Having just set a record for the "snowiest" October day, the city of Buffalo in western New York state braced for more Friday as the season's first snowfall closed schools and left 155,000 customers without electricity.

At least 60 centimetres blanketed parts of the Buffalo area early Friday, signalling a possible second record-setting day. The snow downed scores of tree limbs and toppled power lines.

A man tries to clear the snow in his driveway during a major storm in a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y. on Friday that left parts of western New York blanketed with over half a metre of snow.
(David Duprey/Associated Press)

The snowfall was expected to continue throughout the morning, said Tom Paone, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the U.S.

On Thursday, 21 centimetres of heavy snow set the record for the "snowiest" October day in Buffalo in the 137-year history of the weather service, said meteorologist Tom Niziol. The previous record of 15 centimetres was set Oct. 31, 1917.

"This is an extremely rare event for this early in the season," Niziol said.

The Buffalo Police Department received more than 3,000 calls late Thursday and about two-thirds were related to the weather, Lt. James Watkins said.

"There are power lines going down all over the place," he said.

Crews worked into the night to restore power, but many customers were expected to remain in the dark through the weekend and into next week, National Grid energy company spokesman Steve Brady said.

"This is extremely heavy snow and most of the trees still have most of their leaves, he said. "We can't do a complete damage assessment until the snow stops falling."

Other western New York communities also experienced heavy snowfall. Officials in Amherst ordered a driving ban for the entire town.

"We have a condition where 80 percent of the roads are impassable," said Lt. Stephen McGonagle of the Amherst Police Department.

Buffalo schools were closed Friday.

The snowstorm caused flight delays and cancellations at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, officials said. The airport shut down for almost two hours late Thursday.

Tree branches were strewn across the roads around the region. A large box maple tree split in half, falling on Joan Casey's home in Buffalo.

"The whole house shook," Casey said. "We were very afraid. Originally I thought it was just the thunder, and then I came outside and I couldn't believe it."