That Epic, Fickle, Shovel-off-to-Buffalo Snow: An All-Time U.S. Record?

Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D. ^ | November 20th, 2014 | Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.

[kosciusko51]

I have a special place in my heart for lake effect snow. Living in Sault, Michigan as a teenager is what got me interested in weather and started me down my career path.

But it’s hard to compete with what Buffalo, New York gets for lake effect snow. Over six feet of snow fell in some areas on the south side of town in the last 48 hours, most of it in a 24 hour period.

The all-time U.S. record for a 24 hour snowfall is 76 inches in Silver Lake, Colorado way back in 1921, and it is possible this was exceeded yesterday. We will have to wait and see what NOAA decides.

The reason why Buffalo gets pounded so bad is the shape of Lake Erie…long and narrow, so a cold wind blowing down its length generates a single, intense snow band. You are either in it or out of it. Driving down the road, you can be in sunshine one minute, and in white-out conditions the next. This pair of pictures taken at the same time only 5 miles apart in Buffalo during the storm illustrates the fickle nature of lake effect storms.

[DoughtyOne]

Probably works best if you turn it on as the snow starts.

Once you get five feet of it, the bottom would melt, but the top might just remain.

Thanks for the mention and the link. I thought they might have this out there, but as you say, it costs money.

[discostu]

That’s my version of hell right there.

[DoughtyOne]

That is cool!

[caww]

Not that I'm aware...it's on several sites and news station sites as well...so I'd have to probably say not.

I do know the weather people tracking this were astounded at the footage of how this came in and said it was definitely for the records in it's formation etc.

[caww]

Yep...that’s what I thought too...and in some respects is....I read about how come this happens...pretty interesting.

[1Old Pro]

People that lived only 30 minutes North only got 2 inches. It was a real “wall”,

[thackney]

It was more common in Alaska.

We had it for the church. It really doesn’t work for snow removal. It would just cover the edges in ice as it melted off and froze.

But after the snow is removed, you can keep it from an icy surface.

[caww]

This firetruck got stuck at two feet and more falling

[nascarnation]

Cleveland is like that too.
You’d have a foot in the east side snowbelt and almost nothing on the west side.
The wind vector determines everything.

[caww]

Yes...and some faced their own "Wall" after it hit!

[DoughtyOne]

I should check it out too sometime. Sounds like an interesting subject.

[Nachoman]

Here's a picture of the worst snow storm I was ever in.

[DoughtyOne]

Okay, sounds good. I know how icy it can get when the snow melts and then that freezes. Black ice...

[caww]

Makes me tired just imagining having to take on that shoveling!!!....Out here guys who have plows for their trucks call off work for the day because they make a lot of cash shoveling out people, most of the companies know this and prepare for it as much as possible. That is if the guys could even get to work in that much snow!!!

[duckbutt]

No photo shop. Hubby and I were driving from Akron to Cleveland one January morning so I could go to radiation treatment at Cleveland Clinic. Bright sunny day until we were about 2 miles out from Cleveland. Saw a wall of white coming our way and on the radio they said that a “white out” was happening over Cleveland —lake effect snow off of Lake Erie.....we turned around and high tailed it back home pronto. We later got quite a bit of snow, but we were just a little south of the major “snow belt” in that area....it’s really an awesome sight!
Pat

[caww]

[nascarnation]

60 degrees this weekend, right?
I see a lot of flooded basements ahead.

Bilge pumps may be better sellers than snow throwers....

[combat_boots]

Just wow. That pic is frightening.

[caww]

When you look at all the snow piled on the roof, in West Seneca, New York you can understand the concern about roof collapses, due to the weight of additional snow, plus rain on top of the snow this weekend.

[caww]

Flooded basements because it's also calling for rain on top of the snow....so roofs caving will also be an issue for the weight of the snow.