Heavy blizzards lashed Buffalo, New York, on Christmas Day, trapping people in cars, causing power outages and raising the death toll from a powerful winter storm that swept through the United States, Reuters reported.

The car got stuck in a tent in BuffaloPhoto: Carolyn Thompson/AP/Profimedia

According to NBC News, the blizzard killed 28 people across the country. CNN reported 26 dead.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the overnight death toll from the storm rose from three to seven in the Buffalo region of far western New York, where snowfall reached nearly 1.2 meters on Sunday.

Some of those who were pronounced dead on Sunday morning were found in their cars and others in the mud, Poloncarj said, adding that the death toll could rise.

“It’s not the Christmas that any of us hoped or expected, but try to have as much fun as possible today,” Polonkharj tweeted on Sunday. “Deep condolences to the families who lost their loved ones”