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.

A light dusting of snow began covering the Buffalo Bills' facility on Friday as the team completed its final practice of the week inside Highmark Stadium.

In Erie County, Ohio, a lake-effect snow warning is in place until 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Between 10 and 20 inches of heavy snow accumulations are expected in the north of the county, while between 12 and 24 inches are expected in the south.

Lake effect snow is slamming the Great Lakes, with seven states from Wisconsin to New York under snow alerts on Monday.

Post-Thanksgiving travel will be treacherous in parts of the Great Lakes region on Monday with more lake-effect snow falling after the region was already buried under feet of it, while cold temperatures remain across a large swath of the United States.

Lake-effect snow blowing in from the Great Lakes has blanketed parts of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, stranding hundreds of vehicles on roads and snarling post-Thanksgiving travel. Well over two feet of snow had fallen in many parts of the region by early Monday,