What’s going on in the Buffalo area?
Heavy snowfall is pounding parts of western New York state as a potentially historic storm that’s halted traffic on major roadways threatens to topple trees, damage property and knock out power as temperatures plunge.
Snowfall totals have now reached 5 feet in at least one location. Orchard Park, where the Buffalo Bills had been scheduled to play their now-relocated NFL game Sunday, had snowfall totals of up to 66 inches by Friday evening.
Buffalo’s highest three-day snowfall is 56.1 inches, which occurred in December 2001, CNN Meteorologist Brandon Miller said. Indeed, given the rate of snowfall, Buffalo may see a month’s worth of snow in only a few hours. That could make this month the snowiest November since 2000, when 45.6 inches in total fell in the city during the entire month, Miller added.
Now, this is being written late Friday evening. How much snow by Saturday morning? It’s snowing 1-3 inches per hour. Interestingly, in Buffalo proper, there really isn’t all that much (check out these webcams). It’s the area to the south and east that are getting hammered.
snow mushroom update… #buffalo #buffalosnow #LakeEffectSnow #LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/PRa4LJPKH8
— MaryAnn (@n1temare74) November 18, 2022
Looks fun, eh? Roads are shut down, both from the notion of “nah, bro, you’re not going anywhere” and government decree. Heck, many snowplows and such have gotten stuck. So, of course the Washington Post goes with
Human-caused climate change has the potential to intensify lake-effect snow events, at least in the short term, according to the NOAA’s U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit.
“Ice cover extent and lake water temperatures are the main controls on lake-effect snow that falls downwind of the Great Lakes,” the tool kit states. “As the region warms and ice cover diminishes in winter, models predict that more lake-effect snow will occur. The predictions change once lake temperatures rise to a point when much of what now falls as snow will instead fall as rain.”
A couple more tweets below the fold with video
Benny loves the snow almost as much as me!#Buffalo #BuffaloStorm2022 #buffalolakeeffect #buffalosnow pic.twitter.com/C1QGV1KTwV
— BuffaloWeather (@weather_buffalo) November 18, 2022
?? What’s an approaching Lake Effect snow band look like?
?????Buffalo, NY is providing a classic example of what it’s like for a lake effect band to move in and drop visibilities to near zero.
Watch the incredible arrival ?? #buffalosnow #NYwx pic.twitter.com/SaerJtlozB
— BAM Weather (BAMWX) (@bamwxcom) November 18, 2022
There is a TON of snow in Buffalo right now ??
????: @BuffaloBills pic.twitter.com/1DHJotWCgo
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 18, 2022
I lived in upstate NY for 15 years, and lake effect snow was nothing unusual. Five feet at once is a bit extreme, but we kept a cord of wood for the stove, a generator, and a fully-gassed up snow thrower ready from October to April. It wasn’t unexpected that I would have to dig out the driveway to go to work, and again when I got home.
IOW, it’s winter in Buffalo.
We did a stretch on Lake Superior and experienced the occasional lake effect snow. Not like Buffalo gets and not usually 5′ in one drop. It is WINTER and snow happens. A generator and snow thrower are essential.
However, being retired and I wasn’t a native, we found that a latitude adjustment was the best solution. Went from 46 degrees north to 29 degrees north, the results were amazing. Don’t miss it and haven’t been back.