(The Associated Press circulated the following article on February 5.)
ALBANY, N.Y. — Amtrak has suspended passenger train service Monday in upstate New York west of Albany through today due to severe cold and heavy snow.
All Empire Service trains west of Albany, including Utica, Syracuse, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Toronto and intermediate stops, is canceled. Amtrak plans to arrange bus service in lieu of the canceled Empire Service trains.
The daily Chicago to New York City Lake Shore Limited train has also been canceled between Chicago and Albany.
Numerous schools are closed Monday in southwestern and northern New York areas buried by lake-effect snowfall.
Heavy, blowing snow Sunday shut down a 38-mile stretch of the state Thruway south of Buffalo. Visibility was near zero and trucks were jackknifing.
Wind chill advisories are posted today across upstate New York, with blustery wind making temperatures feel like 20 below at times.
Some towns south of Buffalo reported two to three feet of snow by Sunday evening. In northern New York, 24 inches of snow was measured in Watertown.
The National Weather Service said there was the potential for three to four feet of new snow in the Tug Hill region by today.