[USMA:16901] Buffalo snow

[Nat Hager III]

Title: Thestar.com/Buffalo winged by a 5-day blizzard

Just checked the Toronto Star, to see how much snow Buffalo got - in REAL measurement.    Enjoy.   Nat   PS: Sorry about the html, but it doesn't come through any other way.   Fri Dec 28, 2001 - Updated at 06:33 PM   News   Ontario   Canada   World   Opinion   Editorials   Letters   Obituaries   Editorial Cartoon   Headlines Only!   Star Columnists Careers Classifieds Newinhomes.com   Specials Federal Budget Nortel: optical illusion War Against Terrorism Canada on guard Medical Secrets Lord of the Rings Harry Potter Health Holiday Section   Features Archives Babies 2001 Contests Crosswords Discussion Boards E-mail Newsletters Horoscopes Lottery Results Santa Claus Fund TV Listings   Thestar.com Subscribe Advertising Info Special Sections About Us Help / FAQs Privacy Policy Classroom Connection Star Internships Site Map Thestar.com  > News Dec. 28, 2001. 06:31 PM Printer friendly version Mail this story to a friend Buffalo winged by a 5-day blizzard Toronto sending snow removal equipment and staff to help dig city out AP Photo/David Duprey Bob Germany clears snow from his van in Clarence, a suburb of Buffalo on Dec. 28. RELATED LINKS � thestar.com weather � DVP, Gardiner cams � QEW, 401 cams � Ontario road conditions � Pearson arrival & departure info. � Flash: Coping with cold weather � Environment Canada Toronto forecast � The Weather Network RENE JOHNSTON /TORONTO STAR A Buffalo man walks past a large snow bank caused by plows and wind Dec. 27. BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP-CP) - Five straight days of unprecedented storms have pelted Buffalo with 183 centimetres of snow, leaving the area in a state of emergency today and settings several records. The National Weather Service said early Friday that 183 cm of snow - more than two-thirds of the city's yearly average - have fallen since Monday. Another 30 cm was expected Friday before the snow moved south to ski country. 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. "We offered our assistance and Buffalo readily accepted," said Toronto Deputy Mayor Case Ootes. "Toronto has been helped by other cities in the past; this is our chance to repay the kindness. You can't stand by while a neighbour is in trouble." The offer to Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello was made through Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman's office Friday. Masiello's chief-of-staff, Vincent LoVallo, said his city would be grateful for any equipment Toronto could spare once the snow stopped falling. Toronto staff believe they can afford to donate equipment to Buffalo without compromising their ability to cope with a snowstorm of their own. Buffalo residents met the white stuff with spirit. "We may get hit in the wintertime, but we don't have earthquakes, we don't have tornadoes, we don't have mudslides, we don't have anything that's going to kill someone," said Kevin Creighton, 31. "We do get bad snow. I can live with that." Among the records set: The 186 cm of snow this month makes December the snowiest month in Buffalo history. The old record of 174 cm had stood since December 1985. The 90 cm of snow that fell from 6 a.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday ranks as the second-highest 24-hour total. The record is 96 cm, Dec. 9-10, 1995. The 112 cm on the ground at the weather service's airport measuring station Friday eclipsed the 108-cm record set in January 1977. The reading is less than the total snowfall because some snow has melted and the remainder has compacted. A state of emergency was declared for all of Erie County. ``Basically, the city is shut down," said Matt Brown, spokesman for Mayor Masiello. After opening briefly early Friday to allow a flight to land, the Buffalo Niagara International Airport was closed until at least Friday evening. "I come up here about once a year just to remind myself why I live in Florida," said Jay Patterson of Orlando, who was among travellers stranded at the airport when it closed Thursday. Driving was banned in Buffalo and several suburbs. Most major roadways, including nearly 120 kilometres of the New York State Thruway, remained closed. Only essential government, medical and emergency workers were allowed on the roads. The weather came on the heels of two mild months of weather in Buffalo. The city received no snow in November, and temperatures were in the high teens in early December. That changed on Christmas Eve when the snowfall tumbled into town. Streets in and out of the city were shut down Thursday, and pedestrians were left plodding through chest-high drifts. At least one traffic death was blamed on the storm, that of a 50-year-old woman whose car was struck Wednesday by a pickup truck on an icy suburban street. Buffalo is accustomed to astonishing amounts of snow from "lake effect" storms, which pick up moisture from Lake Erie. The average winter snow total is 238 cm. But this week's snowfall was huge even by Buffalo standards. Large masses of cold air were siphoning moisture from the lake and dropping it in bands of snow. City, county and state workers were sent home around midday Thursday, about the same time a storm band passed through downtown, producing a near whiteout. "We had such a good fall and a great summer. What are you going to do?" asked Joe Jacobbi, working the takeout counter at his pizza parlour. "It came so late in the season that at least spring isn't too far away." The record of 96 cm that fell Dec. 9-10, 1995, is not out of reach for later Friday, the weather service said. "It entrenched over us, and it doesn't want to give up," meteorologist Ed Reich said. 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