Forgotten Buffalo: Historic & Hip...An Urban Explorer's Guide to the Buffalo-Niagara Region: Unique Landmarks, Historic Gin Mills, Old World Neighborhoods, History, Nickel City Oddities, Tours and More!
Buffalo plow digs out Abbott Road in South Buffalo during a 2001 storm.
Even if it is the middle of summer, Buffalonians know that winter is right around the corner. Here is a secret....most of us LOVE IT! Snow, slush, winds and gray skies. As to winter, I say, “Bring it On!” Even as an adult, there is nothing like a snow day in Buffalo. I dream of winter mornings waking up to WKBW's Danny Neaverth reading school closings.I admit, I still wait to hear “All Buffalo Public and Parochial Schools” announced.After a few hours shoveling snow, you come back to a warm house where you take off your wet closes and throw on an old sweatshirt. If you are still lucky to have a “floor furnace,” you can stand over the vent and immerse yourself with a jolt of heat that would give the old blast furnace at Bethlehem Steel a run for its money. Once inside, you quickly turn on Ch. 4 to watch the “Showcase Showdown” on the Price is Right and Don Paul's weather forcast on Ch.4. The perfect “Snow Day Lunch?” Tomato soup, a grilled cheese sandwich and a side of Kraft’s Dinner. At the start of winter, I always purchase a case of Genesee Cream Ale in the “pounder” bottles and reusable case. You know the bottles… the ones that are chewed up on the outside, veterans of bingo halls and VFW posts. This is “emergency beer” that I ONLY use on such days or for older relatives during the holidays. I can only hope for a snow day sometime soon...
Buffalonians talked about snowstorms like other parts of the county can name each hurricane or earthquake. Sometimes these storms make their way into the region’s folklore. Here is a brief look at some of the big ones of the past:
1936 - Digging Out In Buffalo
Blizzard of 1936
Although it happened almost 70 years ago, older Western New Yorkers still talk about the famous St. Patrick’s Day storm of 1936. This late season storm dropped over 20 inches during one afternoon seizing the city. To this day people comment that once we pass St. Patrick's, Buffalo is clear of heavy winter weather or so we optimistically hope.
1977-Digging out in Buffalo
Blizzard of 1977
Much has been written about the events of the Blizzard of 77 (January 28-31, 1977). The storm forever linked Buffalo with the artic although it is a proven fact that our city is NOT the snow capital of America or even New York State. That title goes to Syracuse or Watertown!What made this storm famous was not for the snowfall but the winds. Only 9.6 inches of new snow fell but the real killer were the sustained winds of 69 mph. The power of the wind kicked up 33 inches of snow that had gathered on a frozen Lake Erie.
Blizzard of 1985
On January 18, 1985, Buffalo was hit by the “Six Pack Blizzard.” The storm dropped 33.2 inches of snow with winds gusting to 53 mph. It was during this storm that Mayor Jimmy Griffin told Buffalonians to “Stay inside, grab a six-pack and watch a good football game.” This by far is one of the best lines EVER voiced by a political leader. The storm dropped 33.2 inches with winds gusting to 53 mph.
Storm of 2000
Well, not technically a blizzard....November 20, 2000 went down in Buffalo weather record books as the single greatest 24-hour snowfall in the city’s history. Snow fell at the rate of 4 inches an hour. 35+ inches hit the city during afternoon rush hour forcing thousands of Western New Yorkers to find shelter.I was working at WNED-TV at the time and found myself stranded in Niagara Square when traffic came to a dead stop. After 4 hours standing still, I abandoned my car and spent the night at City Hall. A highlight of the night was a 2 AM trip up to the observation deck of City Hall to see a city sleeping under a thick blanket of lake effect snow.As far as you could see, every street was filled with cars, buses and trucks. The Niagara section of the I-190 was packed solid.As with most Buffalo storms, the main arteries were cleared by the next afternoon and we got back to planning Thanksgiving Dinner.
2001 - Digging Out in Buffalo
Blizzard of 2001
The next “biggie” started with a welcomed “White Christmas” on December 24, 2001. During the week before Christmas Buffalo basked in “balmy” 60-degree temperatures. In fact, Public Radio’s Garrison Keillor joked with a sold-out Shea’s on Dec. 22 about Buffalo’s lack of snow. When the snow eventually started to fly, the epic storm dumped over seven feet of white stuff on the Queen City. The heaviest hit parts: South Buffalo and West Seneca. 70 to 85 inches! This storm afforded me a great opportunity to “Pub Hop” on Abbott Road as hundreds of people partied into the night as a cure for “cabin fever.”
The October Surprise - October 12-13, 2006
The October 2006 Buffalo storm was an unusual early-season lake effect snow storm that hit the Buffalo, New York area and other surrounding areas of the United States and Canada, from the afternoon of Thursday October 12 through the morning of Friday October 13, 2006. It was called Lake Storm "Aphid" by the National Weather Serivce office in accordance with their naming scheme of lake snow effect storms for that year, which related to insects. Some 400,00 people lost power during the storm as leaf filled trees collaps under the weight of the snow taking down powerlines. Erie, Genesee, Orleans and Niagara Counties in Western New York declared a "major disaster" area by President George Bush. It is estimated that the storm damaged as many as 90 percent of the city's trees.
No matter what the year, digging ones car out of the snow is a yearly ritual.
St. Patrick's Day storm of 1936. Buffalo truly is the "City of Good Neighbors" during a storm.
St. Patrick's Day Storm of 1936
The IRC did its best to clear both its tracks and streets clean. This plow is making its way across a Seneca Street Bridge near the Larking Warehouse.
Blizzard of 1977
Blizzard of 1977
Blizzard of 1977
Blizzard of 1977
2001
McKinley Drive in South Buffalo.
Sometimes trucking out the snow is the only option. These trucks would dump the snow at the Old Republic Steel site of South Park. The piles were so large that they last until the end of April.
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