REDFIELD, New York (AP) -- The snow just won't stop.
Intense lake-effect snow squalls that buried communities along eastern Lake Ontario for nine straight days diminished Sunday -- then started up again early Monday.
The persistent snow bands that have smothered the county for a week were expected to finally end later Monday.
"We have a sharp front coming in Monday that's going to kick all this out. We may get one more burst of snow. But then it's over. Finally, some mercy," said Steve McLaughlin, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Buffalo.(Watch people dig out from massive snowbanks )
However, the forecaster noted that a coastal winter storm expected midweek could bring another 6 to 12 inches to areas of upstate New York.
Unofficially, the squalls have dumped 12 feet, 2 inches of snow at Redfield.
If accurate, that would break the state record of 10 feet, 7 inches of snow that fell in nearby Montague over seven days ending January 1, 2002, McLaughlin said.
A weather service representative was being sent to Redfield on Monday to verify the total.
Residents of the hardy upstate New York village seemed unfazed. Redfield, whose economy thrives on snowmobilers and cross-country skiers, receives an annual average of 270 inches -- more than 22 feet.
"It's snow. We get a lot of it. So what?" said Allan Babcock, a lifelong resident who owns Shar's Country Diner, a popular eatery in this village of 650 people.
However, Gov. Eliot Spitzer has declared a state disaster emergency in Oswego County. The county's community of Parish had recorded 115 inches by early Sunday. Mexico had 103 inches, North Osceola had 99 and Scriba 94. The city of Oswego had 85 inches.
As the snow bands shifted north Sunday, local residents continued recovering from the heavy snow. Roads were mostly cleared as workers turned their attention to removing the snow and trimming down 10- and 12-foot-high snowbanks that continued to make driving dangerous.
The snow led to surreal scenes. One house appeared to be in a cocoon. Drifting snow in the front had swallowed the front door and blocked the windows.
"In all my life, I mean my entire life combined, I've never seen this much snow at once," said Jim Bevridge, 47, of Timmonium, Maryland, who drove up for a long weekend of snowmobiling.
Redfield, which sits on the southern edge of the Tug Hill Plateau, receives an annual average of 270 inches -- more than 22 feet
