( CNN ) -- As the snow finally wound down , drivers and residents in and around Buffalo , New York , continued to dig out from a storm that dumped up to three feet of snow and shut down a major highway . Some motorists spent as much as 20 hours stranded on Interstate 90 , as emergency personnel worked to dig their vehicles out despite continued and concentrated precipitation and up to six-foot high drifts . By around 8 p.m. Thursday , snow was falling at about a half-inch for hour , according to the National Weather Service . While still meddlesome , it paled compared to the 3-inch per hour rate late Wednesday as well as the intense , concentrated snow that continued through much of the day Thursday . `` Just too much in too short of a time , '' Bob Hill , who offered his plow to help , told CNN affiliate WVIB . Tractor-trailers and passenger cars were marooned on two nearby four-mile stretches of the interstate -- one eastbound and the other westbound . While there was some movement by Thursday evening , large parts of the road remain closed to new traffic and the highway authority said it had no estimate when the interstate would reopen . Authorities used plows and all-terrain vehicles to clear the road and provide food , water and gas to those stuck , even busing stranded motorists to a senior center-turned-shelter in suburban Cheektowaga . `` We 're still using ATVs that have police officers or [ firefighters ] operating them , inspecting to see if anyone needs any services , '' said New York State Police Capt . Michael Nigrelli . `` We are seeing progress now , [ and we 're ] hoping in the next few hours to see some breakthroughs . '' Many area residents woke up Thursday morning to drifts as high as four to six feet that , in some cases , blocked doors and driveways . Shifting winds from an east-moving front combined with record-breaking warm water temperatures in Lake Erie to create the intense early December storm . How does lake effect snow form ? D'Youville College 's men 's and women 's basketball teams spent at least 24 hours on the road -- most all of it in a standstill on Interstate 90 -- on their trip back to Buffalo from games in Pennsylvania , reported WVIB . Sam McMahon , who had been trapped on the interstate since 8:30 p.m. Wednesday , told CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf that while he has seen snow comparable to this , there is something unique about this storm . `` In terms of snowfall , I have seen snowfall like this before , but I have never been stuck in a situation like this on the thruway this extreme , '' he said . The University of Buffalo student was heading home Wednesday evening and when he hit slow traffic . `` By 9 o'clock , we were stopped , '' he said . `` Since 9:30 last night , I have n't moved an inch . '' Frank Rodriguez , 22 , whose office backs to the clogged highway , said people -- including a few truck drivers , wearing only T-shirts as they waded through two-and-a-half feet of snow -- scaled fences all day to get food and warmth . Network Task Group , his telecommunications company , even brought out two ladders to help , he said , noting some motorists said by late afternoon that they 'd been stuck for over 16 hours . He said the interstate , which he can see from his workplace , was `` completely dead '' most of Thursday until small movement by late afternoon . Ironically , Rodriguez said his hometown of Grand Island , 11 miles north of Buffalo , had minimal snow . `` It was kind of weird -- it was almost like a blanket '' covering some spots and not others a few miles away , Rodriguez said . That disparity is common with lake-effect snow , with official advisories warning about rapidly changing conditions and noting that `` the weather can vary from locally heavy snow in narrow bands to clear skies just a few miles away . '' Several spots got hit hard by this week 's storm , and consistently . National Weather Service spotters reported more than 32 inches in communities east and south by Thursday evening . Plus , temperatures just below freezing made for wet snow that forecasters cautioned `` will bring down some tree limbs and produce scattered power outages . '' Still , while packing a punch , the storm was hardly a record-setter : Over 76 inches of snow fell in Buffalo in late December 2001 , including 35.4 inches in a single 24-hour period , according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Despite the wintry conditions , the New York State Highway Authority noted that no injuries have been reported , though `` as a precaution , '' an ambulance did take away one stranded motorist who used an oxygen tank . `` There have not been any serious accidents or injuries , and no one has been in serious harm , '' Nigrelli said . The snow did die down late Thursday , and only flurries were forecast for Friday . Still , this being upstate New York , the National Weather Service is calling for a chance of snow showers every day through next Thursday . CNN 's Sean Morris , Angela Fritz and Greg Botelho contributed to this report .
NEW : Snow is falling at a half - inch per hour , down from 3 inches per hour . NEW : Some motorists were stranded on Interstate 90 for about 20 hours . Some climbed highway signs after being stuck for 20 hours , a witness says . Up to three feet of snow fell in some Buffalo - area areas over two days .