(Bloomberg) -- Lake-effect snow that killed at least 10 peopleand halted travel across western New York may reach as high as 7feet in some areas before stopping today, when temperatures willrise along with the risk of flooding.

The state has sent about 1,300 workers and 658 pieces ofsnow-clearing equipment to the area where the snow has to be dugrather than plowed because it’s so heavy, Governor Andrew Cuomosaid. Photographs posted on Twitter showed houses buried to theeaves and cars covered on highways. Schools closed and maildelivery ground to a halt.

“There is going to be flooding after the temperatures increase,”Mayor Byron Brown said at a press briefing in Buffalo yesterday.“That is inevitable.”

The city has cleared more than 24,000 tons of snow in dumptrucks from its south side, Brown said.

During a break in the snow yesterday, workers made progressclearing roads, though some closings and driving bans remain inplace before the next blast of precipitation moves in, Cuomo saidat a press briefing.

“This is the largest deployment of its kind ever,” Cuomo said inCheektowaga, a town east of Buffalo. “There are literally thousandsof people from across the state coming in to help.”

Cuomo and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said localofficials should be counting every dollar they spend, includingpizza orders for volunteer firefighters, as they seek to meet theminimum threshold for federal disaster funding.

Ten Killed

At least 10 people died in the storm, most of them from heartattacks, the Associated Press said, citing officials in ErieCounty, which includes Buffalo.

The National Guard, which Cuomo called in Nov. 18., is workingwith the state police to do house checks on residents who may havehealth problems, Joseph D’Amico, the police superintendent, said atpress briefing yesterday. The Guard is also clearing roofs that arein danger of collapsing.

Lancaster, east of the city, had more than 6 feet (1.8 meters)of snow as of yesterday morning, the National Weather Service said.Normally, Buffalo receives about 94.7 (241 centimeters) inches peryear, according to the agency’s website.

“This snowfall may break all kinds of records, and that’s sayingsomething in western New York,” Cuomo said Nov. 19.

The New York State Thruway was closed between Ripley, New York,near the border with Pennsylvania, and Rochester, 139 miles (224kilometers) away, according to the Thruway Authority’s website.

Drivers Trapped

About 150 people were trapped for a time on the highway, eventhough Cuomo ordered it closed before the storm hit, Poloncarzsaid. A jackknifed tractor-trailer caused a traffic jam just as thesnow began. Cuomo said drivers failed to obey the closing orderbefore officials could block entrance ramps.

The trapped drivers were freed, although some truck driverschose to stay with their rigs, Cuomo said.

Michael Signora, a spokesman for the National Football League,said yesterday that the Buffalo Bills home game scheduled for Nov.23 against the New York Jets will be rescheduled and relocated toanother city. An estimated 220,000 tons of snow would have to becleared from the Ralph Wilson Stadium complex, said Andy Major,vice president of operations for the Bills.

The snow was caused by lake-effect storms, which occur when coldair passes over relatively warm water. Water temperature in lakesErie and Ontario range from the high 30s Fahrenheit to the mid-40s(about 7 Celsius), according to the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration.

By this weekend, temperatures will moderate and reach into the50s, Church said.

“Our next concern will be thinking about any flooding once thesnow starts to melt,” Church said. “We may be dealing with theaftermath of this for a while.”

--With assistance from Mason Levinson in New York.

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