Western NY Snow Storm

[Kevin Rooney]

Looks like Buffalo is getting hammered - wonder how much of this storm is influenced by the 'lake effect'.

Here's the URL.

 

[Nessmuk]

Looks like Buffalo is getting hammered - wonder how much of this storm is influenced by the 'lake effect'.

Here's the URL.

The Buffalo storm is 100% lake effect. But for a few degrees change in wind direction that could have been us here on the Tug Hill Plateau instead, off the eastern end of Lake Ontario. It was a bright sunny, but windy and chilly day here. Typical of lake effect to have bright blue sky just a few miles away from the core of 5 inches per hour snow, as was the case near Buffalo today.

 

[Rick]

I checked with my wife in the Western Finger lakes today where she is at a funeral and the weather was clear and beautiful. I spoke to my parents that live close to Buf (an hour from the western finger lakes) and they had no power and closed roads from Ice and snow. Amazing. A few degrees warmer and it would have been a heavy rainstorm.

 

[Wanderer1]

Yes, it was all a lake effect snow storm. I live about 45 miles southeast of Buffalo and we got nothing. It was windy and cold all day but the sun shown brightly all day. It was strange as we are usually the ones getting dumped on and not the city. That is the way with lake effect though. All in the wind direction. You can be driving along in the sun and on dry roads and then just like that hit a wall of snow where you can't see over the hood and have several inches of snow on the ground. It's hard to imagine if you have never experienced it. They said there was a lot of thunder and lightening with it also. I have experienced that also and when that occurs it really comes down hard. Several inches an hour. That has been all that has been on the local news today. Every has been closed in there. Some got over two feet of wet snow which brought down a lot of trees and limbs which in turn brought down the power lines. The old record for October was six inches of snow. They said this was the worst snow event for October in the 137 years of recording. As I said, it was different to see them get dumped on instead of us. Life is good in the sunny south. Even if it was only 30 miles south of the snow band.

 

[rdl]

I live about 30 miles southeast of Downtown Buffalo, and we had beautiful, sunny skies all day Thursday and Friday. The band of snow was perhaps 20-25 miles wide and stretched about 35 miles in from Lake Erie. Entirely due to wind direction coming over the lake. The lake temperature is about 60 degrees, and the cold wind coming over the lake picks up moisture and drops it further downwind.

I drove into Buffalo and near suburbs today, and the devastation to the trees is incredible. Where I drove today, nearly 100% of the trees had some damage.

 

[Guinness]

Lake effect snow is a strange phenomenon. I live just 10 miles north of Grand Island (had lots of snow) and 15-20 Miles north of northern Buffalo, yet we had a sunny and cooler day and green grass. Lots of rain did fall on Wednesday night and Friday. However I did not escape problems. During the downpour Wednesday night my float on the sub-pump stuck and when I headed to the basement for my 5:00 am workout, there was 3” – 4” of standing water! Guess what I did all Thursday ?

 

[WBB]

Not surprising that no one from Buffalo has yet posted. I live 25 miles east of Buffalo and we got hammered. However 15 miles east of me there was nothing. As I live just off a main road our power was restored late Friday, but many in my area will be with out power until possible next weekend. We just had our cable and internet restored, this evening. The damage here is pretty bad and it only gets worst as you head west. Most people here are prepared for winter just not in mid Oct.

 

[mavs00]

60 miles due east in Rochester, and we didn't see a flake. Okay maybe 1-2, but they never hit the ground.

 

[Mark]

I am originally from a suburb of Buffalo and still have lots of family there. I have talked to them on the phone and they have all been without power since Thursday night. Even as late as Thursday afternoon, the storm was supposed to drop only 3 to 6 inches of snow on the area. My Mom ended up with 24 inches. The problem is that it was heavy, wet snow and the trees have not lost their leaves, so a lot of trees came down taking out the power lines. It might be next weekend before all the power is restored.

 

[Buffalogal]

Hello from Buffalo - Williamsville to be exact - a northeastern suburb that was particularly hard-hit. Lake effect is capricious. We had about two feet of snow, and other areas got nothing. Its all in the way the wind blows. I am at work today in downtown Buffalo, where everything seems normal. The snow started Thursday afternoon and continued through Friday. It was wet and heavy, and clung to the trees that are still leaf-covered. The weight was too much, and eventually the limbs just starting snapping. Thursday night was really scary - there was thunder and lightning, and the crack and thud of falling tree limbs all night. Then the power went out. We awoke to about two feet of heavy wet snow, and the yard and street out front was a tangle of tree limbs and branches. All the trees have suffered damage, and several on my property look like they were simply broken in half. The devastation is heart-breaking. The worst damage seems to be in North Buffalo, Amherst, and Williamsville. National Grid has said that the power should be returned by this weekend. My kids' schools have already closed for the rest of the week, because school buses can't possibly get down the side streets where tree limbs and power lines are creating an obstacle course. Its like stuff you see on the news, not in your own backyard. We have a gas water tank, stove and fireplace, so at least I can cook and shower, and we're not freezing. We're keeping food in a cooler on the front porch, burning candles at night, and doing a jigsaw puzzle by headlamp. Today I'm charging up everyone's cell phones and laptops here at work. Its getting pretty old, but things could be worse.

 

[rdl]

Here's a good link with a map that shows the storm's snowfall