The Great Lakes region, already covered in snow, is expected to become even stormier this week

In Ohio, the quaint village of Geneva-on-the-Lake received more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) of snow, and more snow is forecast for the rest of the week, according to the National Weather Service.

“It’s just annoying at this point,” said Ryan Colby, who lives in the Ohio village just a snowball’s throw from Lake Erie. “We were getting hit by it left and right. I got up every few hours and shoveled the driveway and porch just so we wouldn’t get too buried again.”

Lake effect snow warnings were in effect through Tuesday evening in parts of Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.

Through Tuesday, winter storm watches or warnings were also issued in Michigan along the Lake Michigan shoreline, where up to 1 foot (0.3 meters) of snow was predicted. Further inland, some communities have canceled school, including Gaylord, where more than 3 feet (0.9 meters) of snow has fallen since Thanksgiving.

“This time last year we still had green grass,” said Mike Williams, who runs a snow removal business in Gaylord. “Getting everything at once overwhelmed everyone.”

Dig up

Skies were clear east of Lake Ontario in northern New York, where some residents were still digging out of piles of snow.

“We have snowbanks that are taller than me,” said Mary Shambo, owner of the Cottage Inn in Copenhagen, New York. More than 1.5 meters of snow fell in the small village within four days.

Shambo and her husband Ben managed to stay open despite the fierce storm. Some locals arrived on snowmobiles, but they were primarily used by truck drivers to pull off the road when the snow got particularly heavy.

“It’s going from whiteout conditions to clear,” she said, “so they would take off if it was clear and hope to God they get where they need to go.”

In Ohio, the mayor of Geneva-on-the-Lake has been using an excavator almost continuously since Thursday to clear the snow.

“Every business down here has been closed for the last four days,” Mayor Dwayne Bennett said. “You can’t even get in the front doors.”

“The problem is that we are not able to handle that much snow during this time,” he added.

Officials faced similar problems in snow-packed Erie, Pennsylvania, where 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 meters) of snow fell since Thursday and accumulations on the ground were particularly wet and heavy.

“Each shovel weighs about 30 pounds, and there’s not a lot of room to clear away the snow when it’s been building up for days,” said Sarah Morrison of the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority.

Snow in Alaska

Up to 17 inches (43 centimeters) of snow fell in Alaska’s capital Juneau over the weekend as part of a system that was “definitely stronger” than what the region typically experiences this time of year, National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Spann said.

The snow turned to freezing rain early Monday, he said, and roads were icy in some areas. Wet, heavy snow piled up on sidewalks along normally busy streets near downtown Juneau, and slushy puddles formed at some intersections. On Monday, school in the city went to remote learning and state offices were closed due to freezing rain. The thin branches of some trees were encased in ice.

The rest of Juneau week is expected to be very different. The forecast calls for rain and unseasonably warm temperatures in the 40s (between 4.4 and 10 degrees Celsius).

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This story has been updated to correct the snow total in Cassadaga, New York, to 4.5 feet (not 5.5 feet).

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Contributing to this report were: Susan Haigh in Norwich, Connecticut; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Ed White in Detroit; Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska.