Damn! That is alot of snow

December 28, 2001 11:48 AM

Damn! That is alot of snow Buffalo has gotten over five feet of snow. I hope everyone is ok. This is just amazing.
posted by aj100 (22 comments total)

That's NOTHING compared to what we endured during the Bizzard of 1977...
posted by Macboy at 11:59 AM on December 28, 2001

The 44 inches on the ground at the weather service's airport measuring station Friday eclipsed the 42-inch record set in January 1977. The reading is less than the total snowfall because some snow has melted and the remainder has compacted.

So much for that.
posted by phoenix enflamed at 12:12 PM on December 28, 2001

Macboy is right, this is inconvenient but several orders of magnitude easier than the Blizzard of '77. That storm lasted the better part of three weeks, featuring blowing snow for two weeks straight, 20-foot snowdrifts everywhere and people running out of food in their homes and freezing to death in subzero temperatures.

Yes, my arms are tired from all the shoveling. But today is different. I just got back from the supermarket, which was not only open and fully stocked, but had a full complement of staff on. The sushi guy looked bored.

And the sun just came out :)
posted by sacre_bleu at 12:20 PM on December 28, 2001

And, it only gets worse. Current conditions. (note "3 inches, last hour" and "snow increasing rapidly.") The Medium Range Forecast (MRF) doesn't have much good news for Buffalo, either -- as long as those temps stay below freezing, and that strong WSW wind blows, and the lake isn't frozen, Buffalo will continue to get hammered.

1977 was still a worse year (this kind of stuff lasted for weeks in '77) but if Erie doesn't freeze up, and the winds don't shift, then it may well turn out to be worse.
posted by eriko at 12:28 PM on December 28, 2001

meanwhile, down here in Texas, it's warm enough to go swimming.
Damn, what I wouldn't give for just a foot or so of snow.
posted by bradth27 at 12:36 PM on December 28, 2001

That's why I moved to Austin. It's 70, sunny and I didn't have to shovel or scrape anything to get to work this morning.
posted by jeblis at 12:43 PM on December 28, 2001

Trust me, everyone there is just fine. New Yorkers (the state, not the city) are used to lots of snow and don't freak out when they get a lot. It's much more dangerous when people in Virginia get a half-inch of snow and have no clue how to drive in it, resulting in many accidents etc.

I also have to say that if it's going to be cold where you live, you want snow. Try living on the shores of CT in the winter. It gets (almost) as cold as Buffalo, but instead of beautiful white snow and fir trees CT has brown, ugly sand on the roads, dead grass, and often mud that freezes nightly and melts daily and is generally gross.
posted by zekinskia at 1:08 PM on December 28, 2001

The sushi guy looked bored

God bless America!
posted by Mick at 1:24 PM on December 28, 2001

Snow and a Sushi Guy. I thought the Sushi Guy comment was funny too.
The closest thing we have to a Sushi Guy down here is the Lobster Tank at WalMart.....
posted by bradth27 at 2:06 PM on December 28, 2001

I hade mentioned to a friend that I could find no redeeming reason for anyone to live in Buffalo. Snow aside, their economy is going down the tubes. And now no one can sell a home because of snow/jobs.
But god gives as well as takes: Buffalo has solved the problem of the homeless sleeping on the streets. How many other cities can say that?
posted by Postroad at 2:33 PM on December 28, 2001

I live in Buffalo. Funny thing is... I went away to Rochester on Monday night when the snow started falling. There is almost no snow here... and I'm stuck here.. we tried to go back but all the highways were jammed so we ended up going back. I thought I was just going to spend Christmas in Rochester, now I see that I might enjoy New Years here as well. I'm not much of a holiday person so I don't care as much as others would about being 'away from home...'

Oh well, life goes on. We are going to attempt to go back again tomorrow(Saturday) with my brother's real wheel drive BMW 540i. That should be interesting. Enjoy your holidays MetaFilter'ers.
posted by spidre at 3:31 PM on December 28, 2001

I love snow! It makes people children again, most of the time. Which is probably unrelated to the fact that in Judaism, snow is an illuminating force that is tantamount to Spiritual Light.
posted by ParisParamus at 3:39 PM on December 28, 2001

I'm not sure which Buffalo record is more impressive: the snow that has fallen this week or last month being the first November where it did not snow in Buffalo.
posted by munger at 3:40 PM on December 28, 2001

Ironically, a bit north in Toronto, there's no snow on the ground, and they've had one of the warmest Decembers ever.
posted by bobo123 at 4:15 PM on December 28, 2001

yep, I have a friend in rochester and has almost no snow in the yard... I can't believe that 90 miles away buffalo is at 55"!
posted by tomplus2 at 5:27 PM on December 28, 2001

Dammit. Hardly any snow at all yet here in southern Maine. It's been seven years since I lived in a snow-capable climate. I want snow!
posted by rusty at 7:09 PM on December 28, 2001

Man, I *loved* the Blizzard of '77. My best friend's parents went to NYC for the weekend and she stayed with us, getting stuck at our house for days. My dad was trapped at his office and I remember just playing all day every day for what seemed like weeks because there was no school. The street in front of our house was covered in snow and I remember a man on a dogsled went by, and he was the first person we saw after the storm stopped. Tha blizzard is one of my favorite childhood memories. I'm a little jealous of the folks in Buffalo right now.
posted by megnut at 7:11 PM on December 28, 2001

Oddly, for a while at least, Rochester was ahead of Buffalo as far as snow fall goes. But with the end of the 90's, the Queen City has left the Flower City in the dust (so to speak). One good thing, some of the bargain airlines are considering flying to Rochester's airport; we have some of the highest airfares in the state.
posted by tommasz at 7:33 PM on December 28, 2001

I wish it was snowing like that here in Rochester, we haven't had a decent snow storm in 4 years. I guess what does it for me is the echoy ambience of the air after everything has fallen and the snow crunching under your feet.
posted by jasonspaceman at 8:22 PM on December 28, 2001

Ah, Rah-cha-cha, where it snowed on Halloween the year I arrived, and kept on snowing through into May. I might miss the U of R if it weren't located in the third windiest city in America.

Buffalo's economy is going down the tubes? Who recently pushed it back up the tubes so it could drop?
posted by yerfatma at 10:56 PM on December 28, 2001

Globe and Mail: "Buffalo will be getting a helping hand from north of the border...Toronto snow removal equipment and staff will be en route to Buffalo by Sunday night...This time, it helped that schoolchildren and many workers were on vacation when the storm struck. Once it arrived, few ventured outside, perhaps taking former mayor James Griffin's advice during a 1977 blizzard to wait it out with a six-pack of beer and a football game."
posted by Carol Anne at 6:45 AM on December 29, 2001

Postroad,

I feel sorry you have such a negative view of Buffalo as an outsider. I grew up in Western New York and think fondly of the people in Buffalo. That's what makes Buffalo a livable city. It's a tight knit community with a real sense of family that you won't notice unless you visit. Snow doesn't bother Buffaloans, they consider it a blessing. I remember being snowed in for three weeks during the 77 blizzard. It was some of the best quality time growing up. When you look at life with the glass half-full, you are a much happier person.

Last time I checked the economy wasn't that good anywhere (and I live in the South now). Check out the Buffalo Niagara enterprise
posted by Macboy at 7:01 AM on December 29, 2001