Updated 4:58pm: At least 13 people have now died in the huge winter storm which has hit parts of New York state.

In some areas there's well over 2 metres of snow on the ground.

The latest fatality is a 50-year-old man, whose body was found in a car buried under the snow.

Erie County's deputy commissioner Richard Tobe expects things will get worse as the snow melts in days to come.

"There will be flooding we expect, in places that do not normally experience it and have perhaps not see in anyone's lifetime."

Sky News reporter Katie Spencer says the cleanup cost from the storm is likely to be significant.

"Some parts of New York have experienced almost as much snow as 24 hours as they do in an entire winter.

"But saving lives comes first, as any communities remain cut off, buried under a blanket of snow."