Snow? I'll show you some snow!
Jan 22nd, 2005, 02:45 PM
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Snow? I'll show you some snow!
I posted these pix last year (but was too lazy to dig up a year old post). Buffalo and the surrounding areas had a blizzard in 1977. You'll never again think 6" inches of the white stuff is a lot of snow!
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/buf/blizzard/blizphoto.html
ENJOY....and stay warm!!!
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/buf/blizzard/blizphoto.html
ENJOY....and stay warm!!!
Jan 22nd, 2005, 02:52 PM
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That one was winter '77-'78 and was the same one that I have the picture with my two oldest standing on the "front lawn" and touching the roof. But I think you are the expert for national average.
The worst one of all was 1968 Jan. It was 60 degrees the Saturday before also. That one took a good 3 to 4 days to just find the cars.
Thanks for the pix. And I still hate to drive in it, but I do.
The worst one of all was 1968 Jan. It was 60 degrees the Saturday before also. That one took a good 3 to 4 days to just find the cars.
Thanks for the pix. And I still hate to drive in it, but I do.
Jan 22nd, 2005, 05:53 PM
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JJ5: Anytime we have a 60 or 70 degree day in Jan. or Feb., I just assume it is the "calm before the storm."
Where did you live in 77-78? I wasn't aware of other blizzards during that time!!! We had another blizzard in 1985. And although it was quite bad, it didn't even come close to the blizzard of 77'!
Where did you live in 77-78? I wasn't aware of other blizzards during that time!!! We had another blizzard in 1985. And although it was quite bad, it didn't even come close to the blizzard of 77'!
Jan 22nd, 2005, 06:30 PM
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yep, that's LOTS of snow in those photos -- and I know the east coast is really suffereing now with the wintry storms.
But at least you can see where the cars are in those pics. In Northern California we accumulated over 20 feet of snow in three storms this month. Even the 2 story houses were pretty much buried. In the small town of Truckee they had to truck out 60 tons of snow just to keep the main roads clear. And shoveling was just about impossible because the snow banks are so high and there is no place to throw it.
But at least you can see where the cars are in those pics. In Northern California we accumulated over 20 feet of snow in three storms this month. Even the 2 story houses were pretty much buried. In the small town of Truckee they had to truck out 60 tons of snow just to keep the main roads clear. And shoveling was just about impossible because the snow banks are so high and there is no place to throw it.
Jan 22nd, 2005, 08:26 PM
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It's finally stopped here in Chicago for the most part and it is supposed to just flurry to 3 or 4 am now. We only totaled about 12 to 16 inches, although it's light, blowing/drifting and visibility is bad.
BuffaloGirl, I was wrong. Ours (Chicago) was not'77, it was '78 and during the last few days of Dec. I looked at my pictures. Yours in Buffalo was the year before. '78 was cumulative over several days, and was a series that left us with about 3 feet and also without anywhere to pile it anymore. But that still wasn't nearly as bad as '68, because all in Jan.'68 came within about 12-15 hours and everyone became stranded at work.
I have seen some of those pictures from ski towns where the two story buildings are nearly under. They usually have tow trucks to cart some of it off when it gets that bad. We also have had to do that for hospital parking lots etc. One year when we had no big blizzard but just some series, I had a nursing student who had her sports car buried by the plows. It took all 4 or 5 of us left in the facility about 2 hours to dig her out. I never ever park on the end of a row or edge of the lot in winter.
Well, it sure looks beautiful right now and the kids will have tomorrow on Sunday. Sleds, boards, discs. etc will all be out.
BuffaloGirl, I was wrong. Ours (Chicago) was not'77, it was '78 and during the last few days of Dec. I looked at my pictures. Yours in Buffalo was the year before. '78 was cumulative over several days, and was a series that left us with about 3 feet and also without anywhere to pile it anymore. But that still wasn't nearly as bad as '68, because all in Jan.'68 came within about 12-15 hours and everyone became stranded at work.
I have seen some of those pictures from ski towns where the two story buildings are nearly under. They usually have tow trucks to cart some of it off when it gets that bad. We also have had to do that for hospital parking lots etc. One year when we had no big blizzard but just some series, I had a nursing student who had her sports car buried by the plows. It took all 4 or 5 of us left in the facility about 2 hours to dig her out. I never ever park on the end of a row or edge of the lot in winter.
Well, it sure looks beautiful right now and the kids will have tomorrow on Sunday. Sleds, boards, discs. etc will all be out.
Jan 23rd, 2005, 05:53 AM
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JJ5: I don't know about you, but I never want to see that much snow again. 77' was so bad that people just left their cars in the middle of the street. Plows couldn't do their job because the cars were left everywhere and you couldn't see them because they were covered.
There was a small footpath down the middle of my street on top of the snow and when you walked on it you were higher than the cars.
Cities from as far away as Virginia sent teams of plows to help dig us out and the national guard was called in.
When I have grandkids I'll have a good story to tell them!
There was a small footpath down the middle of my street on top of the snow and when you walked on it you were higher than the cars.
Cities from as far away as Virginia sent teams of plows to help dig us out and the national guard was called in.
When I have grandkids I'll have a good story to tell them!
Jan 23rd, 2005, 06:04 AM
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On the news, they said that our snow amounts in the Boston area will surpass the Blizzard of '78. Wished I had put up a "house for sale" sign ages ago! We gotta get outta this place if it's the last thing we ever do!!! Sing with me.
Jan 23rd, 2005, 06:12 AM
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BuffaloGirl - You'll appreciate this column in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle paper today. I thought it was very amusing.
TITLE: As winter progresses, so do our views of the snow
Mark Hare
(January 23, 2005) — Oh, yeah.
Like most of Rochester, by the start of winter I have forgotten what I know about it.
In July, it seems so far away, so removed from the simple pleasures of gardening, baseball and beaches that you can't honestly picture winter ever darkening your door again. But, of course, it will.
And it has.
So let me remind you of the four phases of Rochester winter: Romancing the Snow, Challenging the Snow, Cursing the Snow, and Forgetting the Snow.
In the first phase, you hear people say things like, "Isn't it pretty," or "The snow just makes everything seem so pure and clean," or "Gosh, I hope we have a white Christmas."
Snow is seen as magical during the Romancing phase. You hear people talk about how neat it is to have four distinct seasons. (Later, they will conclude that we really have only two seasons — frigid and more frigid.) During this early winter period, people are so smitten by the snow that they forget how to drive in it, hence the first snowfall rash of wrecks.
This phase lasts until Jan.2. Once the holidays are over, no one talks about the joys of a fresh coating of lake effect.
In the second phase (where we are now), we look to the skies masochistically. You hear people say, "If we're going to have to endure this, we should at least go for a record," or "I can't believe they're complaining about 2 inches in Atlanta. What a bunch of wimps," or " I can't believe they're saying we got 3 inches last night — it looks like 10 to me."
In the Challenging the Snow phase, we are obsessed with numbers. We are already way sick and tired of shoveling and waiting at red lights, wondering whether the wind-blown signal above is about to crash through the windshield and kill us. So we want to quantify the misery — and get credit for it.
"Ten below! That has to be a record." On Groundhog Day, we all get a good laugh out of the idea that six more weeks of winter would be the alternative to an early spring.
Remember?
The second phase ends around Valentine's Day. That's when the serious grumbling begins. That's when everybody suddenly realizes that they haven't seen daylight since before Halloween. It is Cursing the Snow time.
In February, we can't remember what grass looks like or why it has to be mowed. We have no recollection of lilacs, and we awaken in the middle of the night worrying about ice dams on the roof and water finding its way into our walls and ceilings.
We have noticed that snow is not really white at all, but a dingy gray, that it often has frozen potato chip bags stuck to it.
As March begins, we long for relief, but fear ice storms and multiple episodes of wet, heavy, heart-attack snow. As the vernal equinox approaches, we feel entitled to what the calendar promises. But real spring is weeks away. We spot a crocus popping through the soft wet soil on Tuesday; by Thursday its tiny head is buried under another late winter snow.
"Why us?" we ask no one in particular.
By April Fool's Day, winter has broken us. We are ready to move on, torn between the urge to start digging in the garden and the reality of frostbite should we try.
And then it happens. Forgetting the Snow has arrived. Before long our memories have been purged and the sound of hedge clippers fills the air. And six months later we'll be hoping for a white Christmas.
Some people would say we're nuts.
TITLE: As winter progresses, so do our views of the snow
Mark Hare
(January 23, 2005) — Oh, yeah.
Like most of Rochester, by the start of winter I have forgotten what I know about it.
In July, it seems so far away, so removed from the simple pleasures of gardening, baseball and beaches that you can't honestly picture winter ever darkening your door again. But, of course, it will.
And it has.
So let me remind you of the four phases of Rochester winter: Romancing the Snow, Challenging the Snow, Cursing the Snow, and Forgetting the Snow.
In the first phase, you hear people say things like, "Isn't it pretty," or "The snow just makes everything seem so pure and clean," or "Gosh, I hope we have a white Christmas."
Snow is seen as magical during the Romancing phase. You hear people talk about how neat it is to have four distinct seasons. (Later, they will conclude that we really have only two seasons — frigid and more frigid.) During this early winter period, people are so smitten by the snow that they forget how to drive in it, hence the first snowfall rash of wrecks.
This phase lasts until Jan.2. Once the holidays are over, no one talks about the joys of a fresh coating of lake effect.
In the second phase (where we are now), we look to the skies masochistically. You hear people say, "If we're going to have to endure this, we should at least go for a record," or "I can't believe they're complaining about 2 inches in Atlanta. What a bunch of wimps," or " I can't believe they're saying we got 3 inches last night — it looks like 10 to me."
In the Challenging the Snow phase, we are obsessed with numbers. We are already way sick and tired of shoveling and waiting at red lights, wondering whether the wind-blown signal above is about to crash through the windshield and kill us. So we want to quantify the misery — and get credit for it.
"Ten below! That has to be a record." On Groundhog Day, we all get a good laugh out of the idea that six more weeks of winter would be the alternative to an early spring.
Remember?
The second phase ends around Valentine's Day. That's when the serious grumbling begins. That's when everybody suddenly realizes that they haven't seen daylight since before Halloween. It is Cursing the Snow time.
In February, we can't remember what grass looks like or why it has to be mowed. We have no recollection of lilacs, and we awaken in the middle of the night worrying about ice dams on the roof and water finding its way into our walls and ceilings.
We have noticed that snow is not really white at all, but a dingy gray, that it often has frozen potato chip bags stuck to it.
As March begins, we long for relief, but fear ice storms and multiple episodes of wet, heavy, heart-attack snow. As the vernal equinox approaches, we feel entitled to what the calendar promises. But real spring is weeks away. We spot a crocus popping through the soft wet soil on Tuesday; by Thursday its tiny head is buried under another late winter snow.
"Why us?" we ask no one in particular.
By April Fool's Day, winter has broken us. We are ready to move on, torn between the urge to start digging in the garden and the reality of frostbite should we try.
And then it happens. Forgetting the Snow has arrived. Before long our memories have been purged and the sound of hedge clippers fills the air. And six months later we'll be hoping for a white Christmas.
Some people would say we're nuts.
Jan 23rd, 2005, 06:15 AM
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Yes, our '68 was like that. When we left for work on Friday morning (Jan.- just this time of year)we didn't even have our warmest clothes on. It was about 32 or 33 degrees and there was not any warnings/forecast. We had been 60 degrees the Saturday before also and people had been out in jackets and shirt sleeves.
By noon it was a blizzard and by 3 or 4 pm we have over 26 inches. Buses were left in diagonal patterns all over the main streets. Cars in sidestreets didn't get out for about 2 or 3 weeks. Drifts went right over the cars. And once you got into a rut, you couldn't turn or get out of it. In our neighborhood park the center was shaped like a valley/depression for football/soccer etc. and you could not see where that area/topology began. As a result cars trying to get off the street ruts and around abandoned cars drove across and actually "sunk" to over their hoods. We could run a sled down our back yard hill and go OVER the fence (jump it) at the end of the run.
The salt trucks and plows were actually abandoned that time, and the mayor lost the election over the entire event. Jane Byrne ended up winning because of her salt truck/snow agenda etc. The trains stopped as well. The el also, because the rails etc. were all covered too fast. In some cases the electrical connects were lost and people had to exit away from the stations. It was really, really a mess. People were in drug stores etc. overnight. It was something I will never forget. My Chicago Archer Ave. bus stories are unbelieveable by most today, but they happened. One time when I was not yet 19, I got stuck with 3 people and the bus driver at Halsted and Archer during a mini/flood with a lady in labor who didn't want to "bother" her kids at home, and we ended up helping her deliver a baby girl. By the time I got to U.of I., I felt like I just wanted to lay down in the Union and not move for a week.
By noon it was a blizzard and by 3 or 4 pm we have over 26 inches. Buses were left in diagonal patterns all over the main streets. Cars in sidestreets didn't get out for about 2 or 3 weeks. Drifts went right over the cars. And once you got into a rut, you couldn't turn or get out of it. In our neighborhood park the center was shaped like a valley/depression for football/soccer etc. and you could not see where that area/topology began. As a result cars trying to get off the street ruts and around abandoned cars drove across and actually "sunk" to over their hoods. We could run a sled down our back yard hill and go OVER the fence (jump it) at the end of the run.
The salt trucks and plows were actually abandoned that time, and the mayor lost the election over the entire event. Jane Byrne ended up winning because of her salt truck/snow agenda etc. The trains stopped as well. The el also, because the rails etc. were all covered too fast. In some cases the electrical connects were lost and people had to exit away from the stations. It was really, really a mess. People were in drug stores etc. overnight. It was something I will never forget. My Chicago Archer Ave. bus stories are unbelieveable by most today, but they happened. One time when I was not yet 19, I got stuck with 3 people and the bus driver at Halsted and Archer during a mini/flood with a lady in labor who didn't want to "bother" her kids at home, and we ended up helping her deliver a baby girl. By the time I got to U.of I., I felt like I just wanted to lay down in the Union and not move for a week.
Jan 23rd, 2005, 06:50 AM
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To you peple in the areas that regularly get tons of snow...I feel your pain. Here in Central NJ, we got about 18" with drifting up to several feet. Not much by your standards but being origally from Michigan (Grand Rapids) I remember those drated lake effect snows and the never ending winters. So lovely in the summer, so hideous in the winter.
I am so moving south after my youngest, now fifteen years old, is out of HS. Do stay warm and dry.
I am so moving south after my youngest, now fifteen years old, is out of HS. Do stay warm and dry.
Jan 23rd, 2005, 07:26 AM
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I live about 1/8 mile from the shore of Lake Ontario, and really, we have much worse weather in my yard than even 2 or 3 miles south of here! There are days I can't even see the house across the street, and then I'll drive just a lttiel south and the sun is shining! It stinks! The thing that is wearing on me in my old age is when the snow just piles up and piles up. Last winter was the worst. Never even a little tiny thaw from Dec right through April. The snow kind of packs down, but it never goes away at all. My bird feeders start out about 7 feet from the ground and end up sticking up out of the snow about 3 or 4 feet. Today I put on snowshoes to go out and fill them up. Oh well.
Jan 23rd, 2005, 08:04 AM
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That is horrible and would really grate on your nerves.
We melt all the time now, and new potholes appear with each thaw.
Where I am going North there is actually less snow than here and also it is not as cold. Yes there are patterns and sometimes a couple of miles makes the difference. We have a tornado alley area, same thing.
We melt all the time now, and new potholes appear with each thaw.
Where I am going North there is actually less snow than here and also it is not as cold. Yes there are patterns and sometimes a couple of miles makes the difference. We have a tornado alley area, same thing.
Jan 23rd, 2005, 08:04 AM
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PLEASE SEND US YOUR SNOW!!!!! I live in Whistler,BC , which is the number one ski resort in North America. We generally have 4 to 5 feet of snow here in the valley at this time of year, and 20 plus feet on the mountain. This morning I could have been putting on the 15th green in front of my house. We have had mius 15 celcius for a couple of weeks, followed by plus 2 and heavy rains for the past two weeks.
I'm sure we'll get our share of snow over the next few months , but for now, could you kind folks share a bit of yours with us??? Cheers, Al
I'm sure we'll get our share of snow over the next few months , but for now, could you kind folks share a bit of yours with us??? Cheers, Al
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BuffaloGirl
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Dec 9th, 2003 06:21 AM
