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 area Tuesday, forcing the closure of a 105-mile stretch of the state Thruway. The National Weather Service says a foot to almost 3 feet of snow has fallen on areas south and east of the city. AP Photo/ Carolyn Thompson Commuters walk along Market Street in freezing tempters Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014, in Philadelphia. The National Weather Service says parts of northwestern Pennsylvania are bracing for nearly 2 feet of snow as arctic air continues to produce lake-effect conditions. A lake-effect snow warning remains in effect for northwest Pennsylvania, northeast Ohio and parts of western New York through 7 a.m. Wednesday. 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 night dumping nearly 5 inches of snow and ice in Henderson County with temperatures expected to be below freezing for the next 2-3 days. AP Photo/The Gleaner, Mike Lawrence BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Parts of New York are measuring the season's first big snowfall in feet, rather than inches, as 3 feet of lake-effect snow blanketed the Buffalo area Tuesday, forcing the closure of a 132-mile stretch of the state Thruway. The waist-high snow blown by strong winds stopped even pedestrians in their tracks and motorists abandoned vehicles where they got stuck. National Weather Service meteorologist Tony Ansuini said the storm was dumping 3 to 4 inches of snow per hour. "There are some significant main arterials in the community that are basically parking lots," said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who declared a state of emergency and issued driving bans for the southern section of Buffalo and more than a dozen suburbs. The Thruway Authority said white-out conditions caused by wind gusts of more than 30 mph forced the closure of Interstate 90 in both directions from the Rochester area to Ripley, on the Pennsylvania border 60 miles southwest of 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 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. In a region accustomed to highway-choking, mass school-closing snow storms, this one is being called one of the worst in recent memory. At one point, nearly half of the town 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 even police cars were getting stuck in the deep snow. The National Weather Service warned that the snow off the Great Lakes would continue at least through Wednesday, affecting also Interstate 81 between Syracuse and the Canadian border. Lancaster, just east of Buffalo, reported 42 inches by 9 a.m., while just to the south, in Orchard Park, there was 36 inches. But typical of lake-effect snow, areas just a few miles away, including downtown and north Buffalo, had seen just a couple of inches. State troopers were using all-terrain vehicles to deliver blankets and other emergency supplies to motorists stranded on the Thruway overnight, said state police Capt. Ed Kennedy. It wasn't known yet how many people were stuck in their vehicles Tuesday. "Other than wishing they weren't stuck in traffic, they're warm and safe in their vehicles," he said. The Tug Hill region on the eastern edge of Lake Ontario, notorious for its yearly snow totals, was bracing for 2 to 3 feet of snow. The National Weather Service said the Lake Michigan shoreline could get 6 to 16 inches of snow by Tuesday, while 4 to 18 inches was forecast along Lake Superior.