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More snow fell in Buffalo on Tuesday after a historic and brutal winter storm buried the region and left deaths mounting as the blizzard became the region's deadliest storm in more than four decades. 

Already overwhelmed with a historic death toll, widespread power outages, and a driving ban that's being enforced by military police, western New York saw another inch of snow, the National Weather Service said. 

“This is not the end yet,” said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, calling the blizzard “the worst storm probably in our lifetime.” 

The storm system, which began before Christmas, pounded Buffalo with more than 50 inches of snow in recent days. While snow buried the city, conditions went from bad to worse with frigid temperatures and extreme winds — with gusts measured stronger than 70 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Poloncarz confirmed the storm-related death toll in the county rose to 31 Tuesday evening, with the dead being found in cars, homes, and snowbanks. The toll surpassed the number of deaths seen during the historic Blizzard of 1977 — remembered as the worst storm in the area's history after killing 29 people in an area known for harsh winter weather. 

A driving ban remained in effect for the city as of Tuesday, and National Guard military police were sent to manage traffic because many residents are defying the ban, Poloncarz said. Crews were working to clear roads that are still blocked to create pathways for emergency vehicles.

“People just are ignoring the driving ban. I don’t know what to say at this point," Poloncarz said. "I'm begging: Stay home."

Conditions across the country weren't much better with fierce winter conditions trapping people in homes from Maine to Washington state and causing mass flight cancellations, with a mounting death toll across the US of more than 50.