Death toll in western New York rises to 27 amid winter storm

Three men walk down Richmond Avenue in whiteout conditions during a sustained blizzard in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday December 24 2022 (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News/AP)

The death toll from a Buffalo-area blizzard has risen to 27 in western New York, authorities said as the region reels from one of the worst weather-related disasters in its history.

Much of the rest of the United States was also hit by ferocious winter conditions.