Buffalo shoppers forced to camp inside supermarket over Christmas weekend after city slammed by heavy snowfall
Dozens of shoppers were forced to spend the holiday weekend camped inside a Target supermarket after heavy snow left them trapped. Stormy conditions on December 23 stranded motorists in whiteout conditions, forcing around 25 them to seek refuge in nearby buildings. The motorists sought sanctuary in the Target Plaza on Walden Avenue in Cheektowaga, a suburb of Buffalo, New York, after employees allowed them in. They were greeted with a Starbucks by employees - but were unable to leave the shop until December 25. Footage shared by Facebook user Jessica Lee shows people sleeping on air mattresses set up between racks of clothes. Children trapped in the store played Uno and read books to keep busy. The stranded shoppers were even able to watch the Buffalo Bills play American football on the television. “I have never felt so scared in my life but we are safe and warm,” Lee wrote alongside the video and photos of the experience. “I cannot say enough to the target employees who opened their doors to us and have provided everything we have needed, you guys are literally life savers.” The National Weather Service in Buffalo said that through Christmas Day on Sunday the city had already seen 92.7 inches of snow. This figure is just a few inches shy of the average 95.4 inches Buffalo gets during an entire winter season.