Just call her 'Baby Blizzard'
BUFFALO (New York) - If a baby had to be born in the middle of a historic blizzard that dumped more than 1.5m of snow on parts of the north-eastern United States, this was the way to do it.
Mrs Bethany Hojnacki of south Buffalo, New York, went into labour early on Tuesday, according to CNN affiliate WIVB, when the deadly blast known as Winter Storm Knife buried her city in mountains of snow.
The miracle occurred when Americans were bracing themselves for even more of the white stuff today after the blizzard left scores of motorists stranded, cancelled flights and killed at least eight people.
The freak blizzard was caused by lake-effect storms, which occur when cold air passes over relatively warm water, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but came much earlier in the season than usual as TV newsmen began referring to the month as "Snowvember".
Mr Dave Zaff, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service, said areas east and south-east of Buffalo had already received upwards of 1.5m of snow. "That is somewhat of an extreme event," he said. "From a forecast standpoint, it will be historic."
At least 463 ploughs, 81 front-end loaders and 1,177 crew members were converging on the area, where the snow had to be dug rather than ploughed because it was so heavy, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
Mrs Hojnacki and her husband had stopped to help another trapped driver. Their kindness paid off. That woman turned out to be a labour and delivery nurse, according to WIVB.
"It was kind of incredible. God really put the people who needed to be in the right spot for us at the right time," Mrs Hojnacki's husband Jared told CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 on Wednesday.
The nurse helped to deliver Mrs Hojnacki's baby at a nearby firehouse.
Not only that, another stranded woman at the firehouse was a maternity nurse, Mr Hojnacki said. He described both nurses as angels. Lucy Grace Hojnacki was born just after 9.30pm local time on Tuesday, WIVB reported.
"It's not odds; it's God," he said. "It's more than amazing. We're so blown away by God's grace."
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