Almost 4 feet of snow falls in Randolph

RANDOLPH, N.Y. (WIVB) - Parts of our region that are already buried and can't seem to catch a break from Old Man Winter.

The snow started this weekend and continues to dump impressive amounts in areas of Cattaraugus and Chautauqua Counties. It was sometimes falling at rates over two inches per hour. Currently, the town of Randolph has a no unnecessary travel alert and is reporting over 40 inches of snow.

Snow is now being measured in feet in portions of Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties. At one point early Tuesday morning, over 50 semis were stranded at a truck stop near Route 86 in the Cattaraugus town of Randolph.

Capt. Robert Buchhardt of the Cattaraugus County Sheriff's office said, "A lot of drivers were under the misconception that interstate 86 was closed last night. And of course that's not true."

A truck stop worker said, "A lot of the guys pulled in here last night. I guess they were sitting on top of packed snow turned to ice overnight so they couldn't move. So our pleasant tow truck driver was pulling everybody out."

"There was one guy with chains on his truck, but he still got stuck here," said one employee.

A driver said, "I met a couple of guys that had been driving for 30 years, they were pulling over."

Eventually all of the truck drivers were able to get back on Route 86 and continue on their way. While at Holiday Valley, skiers and snowboarders took advantage of the fresh snow.

One skier said, "I called in sick to work. You can't miss opening day of skiing here at Holiday Valley."

"We came and slept here in the parking lot for a couple of hours so we could be here for first chair. One of the first chairs up for opening day," said another dedicated skier.

Hank Averink said, "This is the best snow we've seen the first week of December for as long as I can remember and hopefully it stays this way. That would be a real bonus."

A Holiday Valley employee said, "The conditions look fabulous, the roads were good coming down, and we've got 10 runs open. What could be better than that?"

Because of all the snow, the mayor of Lackawana is asking residents to please shovel their sidewalks.