This much snow in Buffalo does not seem that unusual, from the perspective of my entire life.
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You are right about that. I’ve lived in this area for nearly 25 years and we’ve had LOTS of snow storms that have dropped that much snow. In just the last 3 months, we’ve had 2 feet, a complete meltdown to the green grass, 2 more feet, another complete meltdown to the less-green grass, and now 5-6 feet. Ten feet of snow before January isn’t even that unusual. I’m willing to place a modest bet that we’ll be able to see the grass again before February. By that time, the lake will be cool enough that there will be no more lake effect snow and any snowfall will be a modest 3-4 inches, like normal winter cities.
I was raised in a small town in Iceland that would get snowed in like this several times during the winter. The next day the roads were being plowed clear and people peacefully went about their business. I’m sure this town had nowhere near the budget of Buffalo. This looks to me like a breakdown of authority and social norms. The new normal.