This weekend brought Western New York’s first major lake-effect snow event of the season. The heaviest snow totals through Monday are expected to be found in the areas of Southern Erie County and especially higher elevations of Chautauqua County,

Post-Thanksgiving travel plans were thrown into trouble as almost 30 inches of snow fell along Lake Erie, closing a stretch of I-90 and stranding motorists.

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 plans for millions.

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.

Nearly two million people remain under lake-effect snow warnings through early Monday. CNN’s Polo Sandoval reports.