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 The Niagara University women’s basketball team has been stranded more than 24 hours in snow on I-90 near Buffalo. A blizzard buried the highway early Tuesday, stopping traffic in both directions. (Courtesy of Niagara Women’s Basketball) 
 
 The Niagara University women’s basketball team lost its second game of the season Monday night against the University of Pittsburgh. Although the team took an early lead, it was trounced by the Pittsburgh Panthers, 70-54. 
 
 When the game ended, it was late. And the Purple Eagles were exhausted. 
 
 “It was an exciting game, but didn’t turn out as we wanted it to,” Emily Granruth, a 19-year-old guard, told The Washington Post in a telephone interview late Tuesday night. So they climbed into a charter bus headed home to Lewiston, N.Y., just outside Niagara Falls. Many fell asleep. 
 
 “When we woke up, we realized it was snowing. Then we were stuck,” Granruth said in an interview from the bus. “It was a little scary. We didn’t know what was going on.” 
 
 A New York blizzard buried Interstate 90 near Buffalo, N.Y., stopping traffic in both directions. The Purple Eagles became stranded along with some 140 other vehicles, authorities said. Police made the rounds on snowmobiles to keep drivers informed. 
 
 The teammates exhausted their food and water supply, forced to pack team water bottles with fresh snow. When asked about the bathroom situation, Granruth said, “So far, so good,” but didn’t elaborate. 
 
 Early Wednesday morning, the team tweeted, “On our way back to campus now!” But it was a long trip for these athletes who were just trying to beat the storm. 
 
 The snow was blowing down so hard into Tuesday morning, the teammates couldn’t see outside. The roads hadn’t been plowed. And, about 2 a.m., the bus was stopped with 24 people on board. Head coach Kendra Faustin told CNN, “I’m assuming that somebody in the front of the line got stuck and everybody else had to stop, and that’s how we got where we are.” 
 
 As The Post’s Cindy Boren reported, the teammates passed the time talking to each other and checking in with their families back home. They used social media to keep loved ones updated. 
 
 Sleepover with the team on a bus in a blizzard!!! #StrandedInTheSnow — Emily Granruth (@emilygranruth) November 18, 2014 
 
 You know it’s bad when you close your eyes and you think the bus is moving #NUWBBstrandedonbus — Focused. (@sylvoslice24) November 18, 2014 
 
 Granruth said the bus driver told them the vehicle had about 200 hours of idle time, so they were able to keep the motor running to keep the lights on and the heater blowing. 
 
 “We’re doing fine,” Renee Polka, the team’s director of operations, told WIVB-TV on Tuesday. “The bus hasn’t stopped running since we left Pittsburgh. So that’s definitely a positive. So we’re probably luckier than others on the road right now.” 
 
 As the hours passed, Granruth said one of her teammates, Tiffany Corselli, started a team prayer “as a way to keep our spirits up.” In one photo posted to social media, the players were huddled inside the bus, holding hands and bowing their heads. 
 
 “At the top of every hour, I’ve been praying for our strength,” Corselli, a 19-year-old guard, told The Post on Tuesday night. “I just felt that it was something that we needed and it really brought our team together. I think everybody is hungry, restless, tired. … I know we’re in a bad state but there are people worse off then us.” 
 
 Tuesday was the coldest November morning since 1976. Across the country, temperatures fell below freezing in at least one city in all 50 states. The lake-effect storm, which some have dubbed “thunder snow,” smothered Buffalo in more than six feet of snow in some areas, leaving people stranded in their vehicles along roadways. 
 
 First responders were using snowmobiles from volunteers to respond to calls. At least four people have died — one in a vehicle accident, three others from cardiac arrest while shoveling snow, CNN reported. 
 
 New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) deployed the National Guard to Western New York to help those affected by the snowstorm. 
 
 Granruth said about five minutes before she spoke with The Post on Tuesday night, the team ran out of food. Police on snowmobiles came by and dropped off protein bars and packaged cookies. They filled their bottles with snow. 
 
 “We’re all a little worried, a little scared, but we’re sticking together and trying to help each other out,” she said at the time. “We’re really thinking about everyone else who’s stuck in the storm. We all hope it’s resolved quickly.” 
 
 A few hours later, the teammates posted a photo on Twitter showing their trip home. 
 
 On our way back to campus now! pic.twitter.com/urg4bYAhiD — NiagaraWBB (@NiagaraWBB) November 19, 2014 
 
 Assistant coach Corinne Jones told WGRZ-TV it’s an experience they will never forget. 
 
 “You couldn’t set up a team bonding experience like this, I don’t think,” Jones said. “And we as coaches always talk about mental toughness and this is really a true test of how tough are we. I don’t hear a lot of complaining.” 
 
 
 
 The Niagara University women’s basketball team in better times. (Courtesy of Niagara Woman’s Basketball) 
 
 This post has been updated. 
 
 Related: 
 
 Buffalo, N.Y., area in the midst of a truly insane lake-effect snowstorm 
 
 1 of 68 Full Screen Autoplay Close Nov. 18, 2014 Tuesday Nov. 17, 2014 Monday Nov. 16, 2014 Nov. 14, 2014 Nov. 13, 2014 Nov. 12, 2014 Wednesday Nov. 11, 2014 Tuesday Nov. 10, 2014 Monday Skip Ad × Arctic blast hits the U.S. View Photos Colder than normal temperatures are chilling much of the country. Caption Colder than normal temperatures are chilling much of the country. Nov. 19, 2014 New York Air National Guard members from the 107th Airlift Wing in Niagara Falls remove snow from the roof of the Eden Heights Assisted Living Facility in West Seneca, N.Y., outside of Buffalo. Maj. Mark Frank/U.S. National Guard via European Pressphoto Agency Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. ||||| BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Four people died during a storm that dumped more than 4 feet of snow around Buffalo and forced motorists in 150 vehicles, including a women's basketball team, to ride it out on a day when temperatures dropped to freezing or below in all 50 states. 
 
 Lauren Hansen shovels snow off her porch as her dog Kapone stands by, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014, in Grand Rapids, Mich. Michiganians are shivering after a pre-winter cold weather system with gale-force winds... (Associated Press) 
 
 Heavy snow covers the street on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 in Buffalo, N.Y., Parts of New York are measuring the season's first big snowfall in feet, rather than inches, as nearly 3 feet blanketed the Buffalo... (Associated Press) 
 
 A Kentucky Transportation Cabinet snowplow clears snow on the Pennyrile Parkway just south of the 425 interchange Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. The first winter storm of the season moved through the area Sunday... (Associated Press) 
 
 Stranded on the median, Angel Abendano, left, and Santiago Cuevas wait for assistance after losing control of their vehicle on the Pennyrile Parkway Monday, Nov. 17, 2014 after the first snow storm of... (Associated Press) 
 
 People attempt to move a vehicle out of the middle of the road along Lake Michigan Drive, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014, in Grand Rapids., Mich. Michiganians are shivering after a pre-winter cold weather system... (Associated Press) 
 
 Commuters walk along Market Street in freezing temperatures Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014, in Philadelphia. The National Weather Service says parts of northwestern Pennsylvania are bracing for nearly 2 feet... (Associated Press) 
 
 A band of storm clouds moves across Lake Erie and into Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. Parts of New York measured the season's first big snowfall in feet, rather than inches, on Tuesday as 3 feet... (Associated Press) 
 
 Caelan Slate, of Nortonville, Ky., calls to say he is going to be a little late to work after losing control and landing his truck in a ditch of off the Pennyrile Parkway in Henderson County, Monday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Heavy snow covers the street on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 in Buffalo, N.Y., Parts of New York are measuring the season's first big snowfall in feet, rather than inches, as nearly 3 feet blanketed the Buffalo... (Associated Press) 
 
 Pedestrians make their way through downtown Cincinnati, Monday morning, Nov. 17, 2014, as the season's first snowfall resulted in thousands of power outages in the Cincinnati area. The National Weather... (Associated Press) 
 
 Eric Dehond, left, and Dakota Paciorkowski help push out a stuck motorist on George Urban Boulevard in Depew, N.Y. on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. Several feet of lake-effect snow paralyzed the Buffalo area... (Associated Press) 
 
 Omer Odovsc walks in front of his tractor trailer that got stuck on the 219 off ramp leading to Rt. 391 in Boston, N.Y., Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. Parts of New York measured the season's first big snowfall... (Associated Press) 
 
 One person was killed in an automobile accident and three others had heart attacks, including two believed to be shoveling snow at the time, Erie County officials said. 
 
 The snowstorm stranded cars, trucks and buses on a four-mile section near Buffalo. By late Tuesday night, many — but not all — had been freed. 
 
 Some motorists had had been trapped for nearly 24 hours. Officials said freeing the vehicles was delayed after two tractor-trailers jack-knifed as they were being moved. 
 
 "It seemed like a nightmare. It just didn't feel like it was going to end," Bryce Foreback, 23, of Shicora, Pennsylvania told The Associated Press by cellphone 20 hours into his wait for help. "I haven't slept in like 30 hours and I'm just waiting to get out of here." 
 
 Members of the Niagara University women's basketball team were napping on and off 17 hours into their wait. Some got so thirsty they drank melted snow, said Coach Kendra Faustin, who was traveling with her 1-year-old. 
 
 Team spokeswoman Chelsea Andorka said the bus, with about 25 players and coaches aboard, was headed back from a loss in Pittsburgh when it came to a halt at 2 a.m. Tuesday. 
 
 "We were told the National Guard was coming by but haven't seen any signs of life," Andorka said. "The first time they came they told us to be prepared to stay for a while. One tow truck passed six or seven hours ago." 
 
 In a region accustomed to highway-choking snowstorms, this one is being called one of the worst in memory. Snow blown by strong winds forced the closing of a 132-mile stretch of the Thruway, the main highway across New York state. 
 
 Meteorologists say temperatures in all 50 states fell to freezing or below on Tuesday. They say the low temperatures were more reminiscent of January than November. 
 
 In New Hampshire and elsewhere, icy roads led to accidents. Lake-effect storms in Michigan produced gale-force winds and as much as 18 inches of snow, and canceled several flights at the Grand Rapids airport. 
 
 Schools closed in the North Carolina mountains amid blustery winds and ice-coated roads. In Indiana, three firefighters were hurt when a semitrailer hit a fire truck on a snowy highway. 
 
 In Atlanta, tourists Morten and Annette Larsen from Copenhagen were caught off-guard by the 30-degree weather as they took photos of a monument to the 1996 summer Olympics at Centennial Olympic Park. 
 
 "It's as cold here as it is in Denmark right now. We didn't expect that," Larsen said, waving a hand over his denim jacket, buttoned tightly over a hooded sweatshirt. 
 
 In Buffalo, Brian Krzeminski watched the snow pile up outside the south Buffalo convenience store where he worked overnight and served free coffee to the motorists and pedestrians who came in off the city streets to get out of the blinding snow. 
 
 "There are people that came out to get a few things. We had some people who came in just to get a 30-pack of beer, which is kind of odd," he said. "We've had EMTs whose ambulance got stuck. I'm constantly seeing cars get stuck." 
 
 The National Weather Service warned that the snow, generated by cold air blowing over the warmer Great Lakes, would continue through Wednesday and could eventually total 6 feet in places. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo deployed 150 member of the National Guard to help clear snow-clogged roads and remove abandoned vehicles. 
 
 "We have tried to get out of our house and we are lucky to be able to shovel so we can open the door. Basically, that's it, open the door," said Linda Oakley of Buffalo. "We're just thinking that in case of an emergency we can at least get out the door. We can't go any further." 
 
 "All around us, it's a solid 4 feet of snow that is so thick and so heavy you can hardly move it with a shovel," said Oakley, whose son Todd was with her, unable to make it to work just three miles away. 
 
 Jim Lehmann was hunkering down with his wife in their town of Hamburg home, while outside his neighbor's house was barely visible through the blowing snow. 
 
 "The main thing to do now is sit in the house and wait it out," Lehmann said. "My neighbor works for a satellite dish company and he tried to get out this morning and he got stuck 80 feet down the street. And he was there for three hours." 
 
 The town of West Seneca recorded 45 inches by late morning and Alden, to the east, had 48 inches. But typical of lake-effect snow, areas just a few miles away, including downtown and north Buffalo, had just a couple of inches. 
 
 At one point, nearly half of West Seneca's plows were bogged down in heavy snow, officials told The Buffalo News. In neighboring Orchard Park, the highway superintendent called the rate of snowfall "unbelievable," while next door in Hamburg police cars were getting stuck. 
 
 Oakley and her son, Todd, were passing the time watching "Dumb and Dumber" on Netflix. 
 
 "We can't even walk down to the end of the street and get ourselves a pizza," she said, laughing. "Maybe if you had snow shoes, I don't know." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press Writers Kate Brumback in Atlanta; Deepti Hajela in New York; Chris Carola and Michael Hill in Albany, N.Y.; and Albert Stumm in Philadelphia, contributed to this report. ||||| Stranded on the highway for more than a day, the Niagara women's basketball team is finally making its journey home. 
 
 In this photo provided by Niagara's Tiffany Corselli, teammates Gabby Baldasare and Jamie Sherburne huddle under a blanket while stuck on a bus near Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. The NCAA college... (Associated Press) 
 
 This photo provided by Chelsea Andorka, the Niagara University women’s basketball team spokeswoman, shows the team holding a sign while their bus was snowbound on the New York State Thruway in the middle... (Associated Press) 
 
 The team was stuck on its bus for nearly 30 hours because of a huge storm that dumped 4 feet of snow around Buffalo and was blamed for at least six deaths. 
 
 Niagara was coming back late Monday night from a loss at Pittsburgh when the squad was marooned on the New York State Thruway. Early on Wednesday morning, players at last tweeted photos of a plow starting to clear the road. 
 
 A few hours later, state troopers picked them up and brought them to a nearby police station where another bus was waiting to take them back to campus, Niagara guard Tiffany Corselli said. 
 
 "It started to get bad fast at about 2 a.m. (Tuesday morning) and we came to a dead stop and haven't moved since," Niagara coach Kendra Faustin told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday night. "It was a rough weekend for us on the court and it just won't end." 
 
 The coach, who took over at Niagara in 2007, said everyone was OK and the team was in good spirits. Players had been running low on food, but local officials dropped off snacks and drinks. There were 25 players and coaches aboard the bus as well as Faustin's 1-year-old son. 
 
 "We have snacks, some granola bars and pretzels," Faustin said. "We found six bottles of water and have been rationing it. We thought we'd be here for a couple hours and a couple of hours turned into 12 hours. It's now 24 hours." 
 
 Before the supplies arrived, the team actually turned some of the snow into water. Faustin described snow drifts higher than 6 feet that covered cars. Other motorists came aboard the bus seeking shelter and bonded with the team. 
 
 In a region accustomed to highway-choking snowstorms, this one has been called one of the worst in memory. Snow blown by strong winds forced the closing of a 132-mile stretch of the Thruway, the main highway that runs across New York State. 
 
 "You couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of us, but it's starting to get better," Faustin said. "You can see some lights in the distance of some houses off the side of the road." 
 
 Players used social media to inform others of their plight, posting selfies from the bus. 
 
 "This whole Twitter and media thing has kept their spirits high," Faustin said. "It's something fun for them to do." 
 
 Players also watched movies and caught the Duke-Michigan State men's basketball game on television Tuesday night. 
 
 "They really have been great. There's been no complaining at all. They've been joking around: I want a steak, I want a soft taco, a Slurpee," she said. "There's definitely nothing in the coaching handbook to prepare you for this. I'm sure when it's all done we'll look back at it and remember how great a bonding experience it was. For now, I think everyone just wants to get home and sleep in their own beds." 
 
 Niagara wasn't the only team affected by the storm. Buffalo Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta was snowed in and unable to leave his home. Sabres assistant general manager Mark Jakubowski and head athletic trainer Tim Macre were also snowed in and unable to attend Tuesday night's 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks. 
 
 The storm also forced the postponement of the Canisius College women's basketball home game against Binghamton on Wednesday night. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg ||||| A monster lake-effect snowstorm that pummeled areas from South Buffalo to Alden with up to 6 feet of snow in 24 hours is responsible for at least five deaths, authorities reported. 
 
 Three of them succumbed, apparently from heart problems, two of them while shoveling the deep snow. Another was killed while attempting to push a car out of a drift. The fifth storm fatality, announced by county officials this morning, was a 46-year-old man discovered in his vehicle buried in snow in Alden. 
 
 There is no name for the great wall of lake-effect snow that unleashed historic amounts of snow through the midsection of Erie County and to the south Tuesday while the sun shone brightly on the northern half. 
 
 Lancaster, South Cheektowaga, Elma, Alden and West Seneca took the brunt of the attack, along with areas like Hamburg, Orchard Park and East Aurora and towns and villages further south. 
 
 While 60 inches of snow was reported at a site a mile southeast of Lancaster, forecasters noted that just six miles northwest from that spot, only 3.9 inches fell at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. 
 
 Dave Zaff of the National Weather Service in Buffalo said there’s no meteorological term for the phenomenon that created that strikingly pronounced wall of clouds and churned out the unbelievable amount of snow. 
 
 “Whiteout to blue sky in a very, very short distance,” he said. 
 
 It’s not unheard of when it comes to lake-effect storms. But the snow totals? They may be for the history books. 
 
 “This will be a historic event,” Zaff said. “Absolutely. It is a historic event.” 
 
 Some are calling it “Snowvember.” 
 
 Between 120 and 150 vehicles were stranded on the Thruway most of Tuesday. 
 
 Schools closed on Tuesday in the hard-hit areas and Buffalo Public Schools announced Tuesday evening that they would close again today. 
 
 The historic lake-effect snowstorm was brutal enough to hit the early segment of the national network news and garnered a pair of Weather Channel meteorologists. Stephanie Abrams and Mike Bettes both reported the storm from Hamburg. 
 
 The weather also captured the attention of cyberspace. “Western New York” was listed as a “trending” item on Facebook late Tuesday. 
 
 Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo directed 150 National Guardsmen to help South Buffalo and the Southtowns dig out and Poloncarz declared a state of emergency. 
 
 Mercy Hospital was working with a shoestring staff. “Many of our nurses couldn’t get into work today,” said Shanel Orsi, a nurse who ended up getting a ride to work from a snowmobiler. “They wanted to, but they couldn’t get in.” 
 
 Half the flights in and out of Buffalo’s airport were canceled. 
 
 The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority canceled several Metro Bus lines to heavily hit areas Tuesday and Amtrak canceled passenger from Albany to Cleveland. 
 
 Officials were concerned about weather-related injuries. 
 
 Clearing cars and driveways, even by snowblower, can tax the cardiac system. Hypothermia can set in quickly, especially in Tuesday’s extreme conditions that saw wind chills below zero in many parts of the region. Walking through hip-deep snow drifts is also dangerous. 
 
 “If you’re trying to wade through 4 feet of snow, I don’t care if you’re a triathlete, there an extreme risk,” Zaff said. 
 
 Authorities also were cautioning homeowners – especially those with high-efficiency furnaces – to keep their outside air vents free of snow to prevent a house from filling up with poisonous carbon monoxide. 
 
 As many as seven people may have lost a finger clearing out snowblowers. 
 
 Other stories abounded from the path of the storm. 
 
 Firefighters in South Buffalo struggled to get to their calls and were taking care of a pregnant woman at a fire hall late Monday. 
 
 Emergency responders in Orchard Park were finding cars abandoned in snow drifts, and firefighters in Lancaster and South Buffalo were having difficulty getting their rigs to calls. 
 
 In Buffalo, Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield said crews carried gurneys down snow-covered streets because ambulances were unable to get through, and utilized snowmobiles on rescue calls. 
 
 “They’ve done that a number of times,” Whitfield said. “That’s common practice right now.” 
 
 Lancaster was among the towns to take the brunt of the relentless storm that stubbornly planted itself over the region. 
 
 Plows could barely get in and out of the highway barns because of stranded cars. Paramedics ditched their ambulances in snowbanks in favor of snowmobiles to get to emergencies. 
 
 “It’s like Beirut here,” said Jeffrey Bono, disaster coordinator for the Lancaster Volunteer Fire Corps. “I kid you not. It’s horrible.” 
 
 But in Amherst, the skies were blue and the town’s streets crews was busy picking up fall leaves. And in Buffalo neighborhoods north of downtown, parents scratched their heads as their children cheered a snow day with less than 2 inches on the ground. 
 
 The weather service had issued a watch Saturday afternoon for the storm with dire predictions of snow of up to 2 feet. If only they had been right. 
 
 The radar made it increasingly clear that a monster storm was headed for Buffalo. 
 
 But where would it hit? 
 
 The Southtowns saw its share, with totals in the 3- to 4-foot range, but the most unyielding of the snow fell from South Buffalo across to Alden. 
 
 Snow fell at a rate of 3 to 5 inches an hour, rendering snowblowers useless and plows immobile. 
 
 “For a 24-hour event, it’s big,” Zaff said. 
 
 When the final tabulations are counted this afternoon, many of those areas – especially towns further to the south – will be adding even more depth to those totals. 
 
 On the plus side, temperatures were moderate by winter storm standards, ranging from the high teens to the mid-20s. 
 
 The nearly stationary band of snow remained in place all day and into Tuesday evening, relentlessly blitzing areas along the Lake Erie shoreline and across most of Erie County south of the Thruway, according to radar images. 
 
 The storm shifted further into southern Erie County during the evening hours, losing some of its steam but still dropping additional accumulation in the Boston Hills area and into Wyoming County. 
 
 The lake-effect storm was expected to creep back up north this morning, but showing a more merciful side. Expected new totals will likely be counted in inches instead of with yard sticks. 
 
 Southtowners won’t get much of a window to dig out from Tuesday’s snowfall, which cut visibility to near zero for hours on end as heavy snow quickly piled up on roadways, in parking lots and driveways far faster than they could be plowed. 
 
 Route 5 – the main artery along the lake shore between Dunkirk and Buffalo – was impassable in most areas Tuesday. 
 
 Numerous cars were abandoned in ditches between Angola and Lakeview, and some of them became unrecognizable as they were buried beneath the deep snow and drifts. 
 
 Despite the travel ban, some ventured out, hoping to traverse the road in spite of the hazardous elements. 
 
 Tuesday afternoon, law enforcement turned away any motorists along Route 5 at Lakeview Road headed toward the city. 
 
 At that stretch of Route 5, the snow had accumulated at least a foot or more in the roadway. And, because of the heavy snowfall, there was little way to differentiate one side of the road from the other or to see any landmarks or street signs along the way. 
 
 Plows are useless when the snow is more than 2 or 3 feet deep, authorities said. 
 
 “You need heavy equipment,” said meteorologist Jon Hitchcock. 
 
 All 35 pieces of the City of Buffalo’s heavy equipment was dispatched to South Buffalo to help clear streets. 
 
 “This is a very, very intense storm – one of those record storms we’re going to remember beyond this date,” said Steven Stepniak, Buffalo’s public works commissioner, during a late-afternoon news conference. “It’s no longer a pushing event. It’s now a hauling event.” 
 
 A second lake-effect storm – driven by the same factors as the first: frigid air and a gusty west wind with just the right trajectory – is expected to pelt many of the same areas as were hit on Tuesday. 
 
 Tweeted Poloncarz late Tuesday: “Some parts of our county are going to receive a year’s worth of snowfall in three days.” 
 
 email: mbecker@buffnews.com and tpignataro@buffnews.com
– A 46-year-old man died overnight in a car buried in snow in a Buffalo suburb, becoming the fifth casualty so far in the monster storm that dumped up to 6 feet in the region. The freak "wall of snow" has no meteorological term, according to a National Weather Service rep, who calls it "a historic event" and describes "whiteout to blue sky in a very, very short distance." The Buffalo News notes the storm "unleashed historic amounts of snow" in half of Erie County "while the sun shone brightly" on the other half." Indeed, a spot a mile from Lancaster saw 60 inches; Buffalo Niagara International Airport, just 6 miles northwest, logged 3.9 inches. Some 150 vehicles were stranded, reports the AP, with a 132-mile swath of the New York State Thruway shut down and some motorists trapped for 24 hours. Elsewhere: Among the stranded vehicles was a bus carrying the Niagara University women's basketball team; the players were stuck for almost 30 hours before being rescued today. The women ran through all their food and water and were forced to drink melted snow, notes the Washington Post. "It started to get bad fast at about 2am (Tuesday) and we came to a dead stop and haven't moved since," the Niagara coach told the AP last night. "It was a rough weekend for us on the court and it just won't end." The casualties also included three people who died of heart problems, two of them while shoveling snow, notes the AP. Another man died while trying to push a stuck car out of a drift. The storm canceled half the flights at Buffalo's airport, and a local hospital was operating with a skeleton staff, notes the News. "Many of our nurses couldn't get into work today," said a nurse who hitched a ride with a snowmobiler. "They wanted to, but they couldn't get in." The rate at which the snow fell—as fast as 5 inches per hour—was too intense for snowblowers to deal with; the News adds that plows can't function in more than 2 or 3 feet of snow. Click for a gallery of images from the storm.