More than 4 million people across five states were under winter storm alerts on Sunday as heavy lake-effect snow continued to bury the Great Lakes region, prompting emergency declarations and the deployment of National Guard troops to rescue stranded motorists.

Western New York has been plagued with at least three feet of snow in some areas, amid lake-effect snow warnings. The National Weather Service office in Buffalo, New York, expected some snowfall totals to top 4 feet by Monday,

Meteorological winter got underway on Sunday, but wintry weather arrived several days prior in the Great Lakes amid a holiday weekend filled with travel-snarling whiteouts and feet of snow. Bitterly cold air poured over the Great Lakes during the extended Thanksgiving weekend,