Gov. Hochul declares state of emergency for Buffalo region.

[wnylib]

Last edited Thu Nov 17, 2022, 02:48 PM - Edit history (3)

Weather forecast is 4 feet of snow between tonight and Sunday morning for Buffalo. Areas around Buffalo are already getting hit. The NY Thruway (Interstate 90) is closed from Buffalo to the PA border due to slippery conditions and low visibility. Reports of tractor trailers jack-knifed on I90.

I am near Buffalo. We've had heavy snow in my area since early this morning, but in the long run, are not expected to get as much as Buffalo will. I am farther inland than Buffalo, so not as badly affected by lake effect snowfalls.

UPDATED EDIT: The 4 feet are expected farther north in NY. Buffalo area has a 3 foot forecast. Interstate 90 closing is extended from Rochester (east of Buffalo) westward to Buffalo and southwest west to the PA border. Highways and expressways inside of Buffalo are closed to commercial traffic. The Skyway Bridge in Buffalo is closed.

Buffalo and suburban schools are closed tomorrow.

[hlthe2b]

1. Stay safe... Got fuel for a generator or other measures available?

Our snow is going to be routine small totals, so at least we get to "break into it gently," albeit much later than typical.

Stay warm, dry, and safe, and cell phones charged up.

[wnylib]

3. I'm in an apartment building. The building has

a generator backup for lighting in the halls, but not for heat or electricity inside of apartments. We probably won't get enough snow in my immediate area to cause a power outage, but if we do, I have plenty of warm clothing items and quilts, plus enough food that doesn't require cooking. Also, flashlights, batteries, and candles, plus a battery operated radio.

I ventured out around 11 am when the snow slowed down a bit and picked up a few items from a nearby convenience store, so I'm ready.

[Renew Deal]

2. 4 Feet! Buffalo is considered a climate haven because of its temperate weather and water supply

But obviously, it comes at a cost.

[wnylib]

5. Most people in Buffalo would not call their city

a climate haven in winter.

Since Buffalo is on the eastern tip of Lake Erie, and winds here are out of the west, the winds pick up moisture across the lake and dump it on Buffalo as lake effect snow. That's especially true when we have a warm autumn like we had this year so the lake water has not cooled off.

[Botany]

4. 4' of snow with 20 mph winds for 3.5 days.

Good luck Buffalo

[wnylib]

6. The wind where I am is negligent so far,

but could increase as the storm gets stronger.

[Botany]

10. I used to live in the snowbelt in PA south of Erie, PA and as a kid I never had a snow day.

(except one time we had an ice storm and the buses could not get the rural kids) The drifts could be 6' tall
and the parents would point and say "school is that a way." Of course we all wore boots which we took off
and put on some shoes we kept at school. The coat room floor sometimes was just a big puddle with all the
melting snow from the coats and what not.

4' or more of snow with 20 to 30 mph winds and you guys are in for some wicked snowdrifts. In college
I had a friend from Watertown, NY and he used to tell me that is where you had some "real snow."

[wnylib]

11. I'm an Erie native. Sounds like you

were in Summit Township.

I edited my OP to clarify that the Watertown area is expected to get 4 feet. The Buffalo area prediction is 2 to 4 feet, depending on the part of the city and surrounding areas.

I have not heard any serious wind predictions, so I am not too worried about that. 20 to 30 mph are not that unusual here.

[Botany]

12. No I was in Meadville, PA not quite as much snow but picking 1 to 2' in 24 hours was not unusual.

Us kids had metal runner sleds and a few people had the old wooden toboggans ... few trips
to the E.R. of the course of the winter but it was fun.

Moved to Columbus, OH and there they used to shutdown schools for 4" of snow.

[wnylib]

13. Oh, that's farther south of Erie than I expected.

I thought you meant still in Erie County.

I'm familiar with the Meadville area. My great-grandmother's family were from was Springboro and Conneautville. I was in that area several times doing genealogy research. Beautiful countryside around there.

[Botany]

14. Beautiful countryside around there.

As a kid it was great. Fishing out the backdoor and across a little woods, big chestnut red golden
retriever, a canoe we could use, a .22 pump action rifle, our next door neighbor was the county
D.A., and his brother was Ray Shafer the Governor of PA. One of the finest men I have ever known
and a republican too.

But Meadville was very red then and I have heard it is even worse now. Hate talk radio/TV, the internets,
right wing christo fascism, deep seated racism, and anti intellectualism has left its mark there. (and other
places)

[whistler162]

17. My father ended his days

in that area. Cambridge Springs, so I stayed at the late Riverside Inn a few times. Nice area.

[wnylib]

22. That's near where my grandfather's farm was.

They had a Waterford address, but the farm was out in the middle of nowhere and closer to Cambridge Springs than to Erie.

[whistler162]

28. Beautiful area....

my dad moved to Meadville when he married his third wife(a nice lady), Internet meeting, and when she passed away 6 months or so later he moved to the senior housing in downtown Cambridge Springs. Nice apartments.

[wnylib]

19. Red country - That's what happens in a lot of

small town, rural areas, especially in PA.

[Renew Deal]

7. RIP

[druidity33]

8. I spent 9 years in Buffalo...

sometimes i miss the extreme snowfalls...... other times i really don't. The way the community comes together in those kinds of emergencies is pretty heartwarming though. I can't tell you how many times i've helped clear someone else's car outta a GIANT drift. You just help out when you see someone overwhelmed.

[wnylib]

9. Then if you know Buffalo winters and roads,

you can appreciate that the Skyway Bridge is closed. I hate that bridge. It is a hazard even in good weather. More like a scary roller coaster ride at an amusement park than a place for driving cars.

[druidity33]

15. I didn't own a car in Buffalo...

i had a motorcycle for a few years but rarely rode. Mostly i stayed around town. University Heights area... Lasalle and Lisbon ave were where i was the whole time. But i was just telling my wife about 25' drifts and opening your door to a wall of snow... she was slightly incredulous. I think i paid $475 a month for a 2 bedroom shithole (this was in the 90's), but of course during winter the heating bill was over $500 a month.

[wnylib]

21. In 2014, Buffalo had a storm that dropped

7 feet of snow in 2 days. Cuomo sent in heavy road equipment from other parts of the state to clear the city streets and trucks to haul the snow outside of the city. Roofs caved in and buildings collapsed.

In 2006, an early snowstorm in October dropped 2 feet of heavy wet snow overnight, causing $500 million damage and cutting off power to over 400,000 homes.

[druidity33]

25. I saw a 4 foot in 2 days storm...

in the 90's. And many other crazy storms... the total whiteouts were the most surreal. I still have trouble explaining what it's like to stand 3 feet from your front door and not be able to see anything past your outstretched hand but a haze of grayish white. And the sound of heavy snow! Tssssssssssssssssss.......

Like i said. I miss it.... but i don't.

[wnylib]

26. I'm near Buffalo, but far enough inland

that I don't usually get the storms as bad here. But sometimes a big enough storm hits us, too. So I'm used to what you described.

The worst heavy snowstorm that I remember was as a child in Erie. It was Thanksgiving day. A storm off the lake that hit only Erie and its suburbs. My mother's cousin and his wife had driven to Erie from Buffalo to have dinner with us and then planned to stay overnight with other Erie relatives.

We had dinner late because the snow had slowed their arrival. By the time we finished eating, visibility was zero, their car was buried, and the streets were impassible and it was still coming down. They stayed with us overnight. The next morning, we could not open our front or back doors because the snow covered the steps to the doors and halfway up the doors.

I missed the Buffalo blizzard of 1977 because I was in a Cleveland suburb then. Cleveland had its own blizzard the following year, the Ohio blizzard of 1978. It was a land hurricane with snow. In the Cleveland area, we had steady winds of 60 - 70 mph with gusts of 80 mph and a few clocked at 110 mph. It lasted 2 days, although the second day the winds were only 45 to 50 mph.

All 3 cities are on Lake Erie.

[whistler162]

16. So basically a light dusting for that area

of NE PA and Western NY.

[wnylib]

24. Two to four feet of snow for this area

Last edited Fri Nov 18, 2022, 08:00 AM - Edit history (1)

is not so unusual. The problem in this snowstorm is the speed of the snowfall, steadily at 3 inches per hour in a short period of time. Snow plows can't keep up with it so streets in a city the size of Buffalo become impassible and people get stranded.

[whistler162]

27. Also my guess is that it will

be the weight off the water/snow. Coming in from an unfrozen lake will be a heavy snow.

[wnylib]

29. Plus, as weather reports are telling us, this is a large storm.

It will cover the "South Towns" (southern suburbs and outlying towns), the city, its eastern suburbs, and is lasting so long. It started south of the city, is going into the city for a couple days, then circling around to the southern area again. So all road crews will be very busy, with no extra people or equipment to spare to help each other out.

[3catwoman3]

18. I grew up in Rochester NY, and we would typically get...

…snow accumulations a little less than Buffalo. The Rochester schools almost never closed, much to our disappointment.

I do remember one occasion when they had to because the combination of the heavy snowfall and the high winds had snowdrifts up to the roof tops of the one story houses on our street. Our across the street neighbors had a 2 story house and went sledding out of their upstairs windows. The snow plows didn’t get to our neighborhood for at least 3 days.

[DURHAM D]

20. How does this compare to the winter of 1977? nt

[wnylib]

23. In the blizzard of 1977, there was very little new snow falling.

The problem was very high winds that blew around existing dry, powdery snow already on the ground and on the surface of frozen Lake Erie. Zero visibility, broken power lines, and drifts from snow blowing into piles, leaving the sides of buildings drifted and some places bare where snow was blown away.