LAKE-EFFECT SNOWFALL IN
BUFFALO
AND
A LOOK
AT
THE RECORD
BREAKING
1976-77 SNOWFALL SEASON
Kenneth
F.
Dewey
Techniques
Development
Lab.,
NOAA,
NWS
Stiver
Spring,
Maryland
20910
ABSTRACT
It
is
the
purpose
of
this paper
to
describe
the
1976-77 record breaking snowfall season in Buffalo, NY. Because most
of the snowfall comes
from
lake-effect storms I the synoptic
pat~m
responsible for
the~
storm,s
and
several
examples
of
storms from previous winters are presented. The paralyzu:,-g effect
D,r
several
of
this season s snowstorms
in
Buffalo is described
and
the
new snowfall records which were establIshed are lIsted.
1.
INTRODUCTION
When
the
snowfall
climatology
of
Buffalo,
New
York
is
described,
the
term
"l
a
ke-effect"
must
be
included.
Lake-effect
snowfall
oc-
curs
to
the
lee
of
each
of
the
Great
Lakes
during
the
fall
and
winter
seasons
when
cold
Arctic
air
passing
over
the
relatively
warm-
er
lake
surface
initiates
vertical
transport
of
heat
and
moisture.
This
mass
transfer
of
energy
can,
and
often
does,
result
in
the
formation
of
clouds
and
resulting
precipita-
tion.
Although
these
lake-effect
precipi-
tation
systems
are
mesoscale
in
dimensions,
normally
extending
inland
less
than
100
miles
from
the
shoreline
of
the
lake,
the
precipitation
amounts
can
be
quite
large
within
the
affected
area.
Adams,
~ew
York,
for
example
(located
lQ
miles
downwind
of
Lake
Ontario)
received
over
68
inches
of
snow
within
a
24-hour
period
on
January
9,
1976
from
a
lake-effect
storm.
There
are
numerous
cities
as
well
as
several
major
transportation
corridors
which
are
located
in
these
lake-effect
snowbelts
and
during
many
of
the
lake-effect
storms
normal
activ-
ities
come
to
a
complete
standstill.
Buffalo,
New
York,
at
the
eastern
end
of
Lake
Erie,
plays
host
to
numerous
lake-effect
.
snowstorms
each
year.
The
typical
synoptlc
pattern
responsible
for
lake-effect
storms
is
illustrated
in
Fig.
1
for
November
30,
1976.
A
large
unseasonably
cold
arctic
air
mass
had
moved down
into
the
eastern
half
of
the
United
States
lowering
temperatures
at
7:00
A.M.
E.S.T.
to
7°F
at
Kansas
City,
MO,
-22°F
at
International
Falls,
MN,
and
10°F
at
Detroit,
MI·
and
Cleveland,
OR.
The
sat-
ellite
photograph
for
November
30,
1976
(Fig.
2)
dramatically
illustrates
the
clouds
form-
ing
over
the
lower
Great
Lakes
and
streaming
inland
under
the
influence
of
West-Southwest-
erly
winds.
The
southern
shoreline
of
Lakes
Erie
and
Ontario
and
the
western
shoreline
of
Lake
Michigan
stand
out
clearly
due
to
the
adjacent
snow
covered
land.
The
ice-
free
Finger
Lakes
region
can
also
be
clearly
seen
in
the
cloud
free
(but
snow
covered)
re-
gion
south
of
Lake
Ontario.
Buffalo
was
un-
derneath
the
center
of
the
clouds
streaming
in
off
Lake
Erie
on
this
day and
received
a
?4-hour
total
of
19
inches
of
snow.
These
synoptic
conditions
were
repeated
on
numerous
occasions
during
the
winter
of
1976-
77.
Ironically,
although
it
was a
drier
than
normal
winter
in
much
of
the
east
(l-Jagner,
1977)
the
colder
than
normal
synoptic
pattern
(with
attendant
frequent
incursions
of
Arct~
air)
was
ideal
for
the
formation
of
lake-
effect
snowstorms.
2.
NOTABLE
LAKE-EFFECT SNOWSTORMS
IN
THE WEATHER RECORDS
OF
THE
BUFFALO,
NEW YORK AREA
With
help
from
the
medial
much
attention
this
past
winter
yas
centered
on
the
fre-
quent
snowstorms
striking
Buffalo,
New
York.
It
is
significant
to
note
that
it
was
the
frequency
of
lake-effect
storms
and
not
the
lake-effect
phenomenon
itself
which
was
un-
usual
for
this
portion
of
the
country.
In
fact,
an
examination
of
weather
records
for
Western
New
York
reveals
that
there
have
been
numerous
lake-effect
storms
over
the
years
which
have
paralyzed
the
Buffalo,
New
York
area.
The
first
lake-effect
snowfall
of
the
season
in
the
vicinity
of
Buffalo,
New
York
usually
occurs
in
mid-November. However,
in
1930,
a
lake-effect
snowstorm
struck
the
region
as
early
as
October
18-19.
Over
four
feet
cf
snow
occurred
in
the
southern
and
western
31
32
,
\
\
\ \
~s
~
s " s
>-
s
..........
,
Figure
1.
Surface
Weather
Map
and
Station
Weather
at
~w
7;00
AM,
EST,
suburbs
of
Buffalo
during
this
weekend
storm
stranding
many
tourists
who
had
been
out
en-
joying
the
colorful
autumn
foliage.
Wiggin
severe
falo.
Wiggin
A
fall
(1960)
described
two
examples
of
a
lake-effect
storm
occurrence
in
Buf-
The
first
memorable
storm
noted
by
occurred
during
December
8-10,
1937.
of
three
feet
of
snow was
observed
in
North
Buffalo
and
over
four
feet
of
snow
in
the
northern
suburbs.
The
second
lake-effect
storm
described
by Wiggin
occurred
on De-
cember
14-18,
1945. The
airport
measured
36.6
inches
in
this
particular
storm
and
falls
in
excess
of
70
inches
were
reported
just
four
to
six
miles
to
the
south.
The
governor
of
New
York
declared
a
state
of
emergency
for
the
western
portion
of
New
York and
once
again,
activities
slowed
to
a
standstill.
.
A
Lake
Erie
induced
lake-effect
snowstorm
on
November
22-23,
1956,
which
produced
up
to
48
inches
of
snow
just
to
the
south
and
west
of
Buffalo,
repeated
itself
exactly
one
year
later
(November
22-23,
1957)
in
the
same
area
and
with
similar
magnitudes
of
observed
snowfall.
Perhaps
the
most
in-
tense
lake-effect
storm
ever
to
hit
the
Buffalo,
New
York
area
lasted
from December
5-11,
1958. A
storm
total
of
six
feet
(with
some
unofficial
measurements
of
over
eight
feet)
of
snowfall
was
observed
in
the
snow-
belt
just
south
of
Buffalo.
A
lake-effect
snowstorm November
23-24,
1970
produced
only
24
inches
of
snow, however,
the
most
memr
orable
aspect
of
this
storm
was
the
exten-
sive
l2-foot
drifts
throughout
the
southern
suburbs
of
Buffalo.
These
are
just
a few
of
the
lake-effect
snow-
storms
which
have
hit
the
Buffalo
region.
It
is
significant
to
note
that
these
storms
which
were
described
above were
the
most
spectacular
and
that
there
have
been
many
other
(albeit,
less
dramatic)
lake-effect
snowstorms
in
this
area
since
meteorological
observations
were
f~r.t
recorded.
Figure
2.
GOES-l
Visible
Satellite
Photograph
taken
at
1600
GMT
(11;00
AM,
EST)
on November
30,
1976
3. THE 1976·77 SNOWFALL SEASON
IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK
TPe
1976-77
winter
season
in
western
New
York
is
equaled
by none
in
the
history
of
meteorological
observations
for
that
region.
The
first
snowfall
occurred
as
early
as
mid-
October
and
the
last
snowfall
as
late
as
mid-May.
Three
aspects
of
the
past
winter
season
are
most
noteworthy
and
will
be
de-
scribed
in
this
paper:
(i)
the
lake-effect
storm
of
November 29-December
2;
(ii)
the
snowstorm
of
January
28-February
1;
and.
(iii)
the
new
snowfall
records
which
were
set
at
Buffalo.
The
lake-effect
snowstorm
originating
over
Lake
Erie
during
November 29-December 2
para-
lyzed
activities
in
the
portions
of
the
seven
western
counties
of
New
York
State.
Snowfall
amounts
exceeded
48
inches
in
Hamburg,
New
York and
at
Buffalo
International
Airport
(15
miles
to
the
Northeast)
the
official
storm
total
was
40.5
inches
of
snow.
A
sat-
ellite
view
of
the
storm
during
its
second
day
is
shown
in
Fig.
2.
The
New
York
State
Thruway was
closed
for
most
of
this
storm
period
as
plows
struggled
to
remove
the
deep
snow
drif
ts
•
The
most
devastating
blizzard
ever
to
strike
Buffalo
hit
during
the
period
January
28-
February
1.
By
the
end
of
this
storm,
Pres-
ident
Carter
had
officially
declared
western
New
York
to
be
a
"Major
Disaster
Area"
eligi-
ble
for
federal
funding.
This
is
the
first
time
in
the
history
of
the
United
States
that
an
area
has
been
declared
a
federal
disaster
area
based
solely
on
the
volume
of
snow
whkh
it
has
received.
The
blizzard
began
on
the
morning
of
January
28th
as
a
cold
front
moved
across
the
area.
The
visibility
dropped
to
zero
at
11:38
A.M.
and remained
at
zero
for
over
13
hours
when
it
increased
to
only
3/8
of
a
mile.
Winds
gusting
up
to
85
miles
per
hour
generated
a
numbing
chill
factor
of
-60°F.
The
winds
gusted
to
over
50
miles
per
hour
every
day
of
this
five
day
storm.
When
the
storm
hit
the
metropolitan
area
of
Buffalo,
thousands
of
motorists
were
forced
to
take
any
shelter
they
could
find
in
churches,
fire
halls,
res-
taurants,
and
private
homes. Because
the
storm
struck
during
the
middle
of
the
day,
many
workers
were
trapped
in
their
offices.
Buffalo
International
Airport
reported
a
total
of
only
12.2
inches
of
new
snow
but
the
snow
which
had
been
deposited
on
the
land
and
the
frozen
surface
of
Lake
Erie
during
several
earlier
snowstorms
quickly
became
airborne.
This
blowing
and
drifting
snow
created
snow
drifts
in
excess
of
25
feet
high,
totally
burying
thousands
of
cars
and many
single-story
buildings.
Twenty-nine
persons
lost
their
lives
in
this
storm
with
nine
victims
found
in
snow
covered
automobiles.
The Mayor
of
the
City
of
Buf-
falo
and
the
Mayors
of
several
nearby
com-
munities
issued
a
total
ban
on
vehicle
oper-
ation
(except
for
emergency
vehicles)
which
was
extended
for
a week
after
the
storm
end-
ed
(Fig.
3).
The
driving
ban
was
issued
so
that
the
clean-up
operations
would
not
be
hindered
by
the
movement
of
private
vehicles
33
--_._-
MODERATING
p _rtly IUlIlly. H
ip
25
\
-4
C~
Low
1
5-
20
(.
, 10
-10
C).
Dean"
PI
',
%3.
VOL.
CXLJI......No
.
11»
ff
ff.
-_.
..
_
....
_
..
. T. _
TUESDAY, fEBRUARY
8,
l
W7
7
28
PAGES-F1FT£E.N
CE.NTS
34
IT'S
OK
TO
DRIVE-3
TO
A
CAR
Good
Morning
P
f!'.
~«
MIooXIrJJ'_II_of
1I\U)'~""""'I
u..
.......-lootlM
__
-'"
lit..
.,
PNokioot
JIrMu'
euw
.
IiIIo
uoI
tIIo
otl...-s_IHw..
........
....
_lYIIetolot
.....
uoIfI.-
.......
..
UObl.,
p
...
u.
1. 0 .. ,. Ar M
"'.,.oW
......
,..,.
.....
""Iloo."".~
caw
IIkn
•
IOIIr
ol
u..
10-
~
.
P
...
L
r;""C-l:Jl<cIo!-'-
tw-olo"""",,,IooI,_·
1WI
I
lnd"""""",,,"
__
_
GMProfit
In
'76 Hits
$
2.9
Billion
Record Level
Double
·'75's
DtTkOIT
l
AP
) _
~.I
WoIoto
Cott.,
~
•
....
_~
I
.....
~.--..--cIq
~
.......
..cl'l"Ol\llot:
a.'
ww...",.,
...... _
.......
"'~
.........
bo
~
.
TOo
_l
,n I
."ul
.......
",.-
....
100
roportod
""""'"
OI
l
..
01.
H7II11ULoo
• • p
ZI
,.
•
.... , I
......
u..
pr.otou
lIIP
01.
QlllillIoobolf1Jand!lotQl
_
~I
....
Lm.
G)t·.
_,...nto
.
...,I1o
1 • •
'"'
.....
~1WiLIo
..........
olll.blm.,
....
SU:I
.
......
.
toIt71TH~
••
nIIIp.......-d
....
*U
llULloo
...
bolm
'Do
..
Ie lIl.ot
post
od
I'ftOI'd
loo.rtb;qu.oNfHro
l"..ol
$7fl
rniJlioo\,
or
a.1I
prt
lito
...
up
"""""'.dl
....
LJmWIoo..
..
2.14
.
010
....
Tf'P<OrIod
1
...
_
<_
...
_1 .
..
_0
..
_
...
,.
aJtMroI ,
..
_
AU
...
__
_
Makowski Lifts
Ban
But
Imposes
Some Restrictions
"M1LTf'OlI:
Buffalo Mayor
Stlni
ey M.
;'Ib.ll:
owlkl on M
oncU
Y
lilted Ihe city drtrilt(
bl.n
but
l'flIlfkted
trdfie
to
vehitles
cury
l
nl
It
least three
pel'lOlU
an
d imposed
~::c~~:a:~o:....,
~
I
r--
-----,
:",,'::"":..':
:.!..!:!
c.~
Rul
e,
for City
~-!",::'.~
••
~
Driving L
i,
t
ed
--,
I
............
1M
....
".....
...
Iloo
.......
U..t
fftIrlctioaI
...
C1tyIUll_
'
"",,_IMCi/Joilhol-
~
.
tloo
....
,....".....,
1.10
__
1111<
__
___
..
" .... u
=..:
:r;:.;It~
P
....
~·I~I~I~
lL
•
""
tihod 1M
driYi.,
itoo"
"Allcm;G
_~1od
..
:::..~!!."
~..-:r"~
':
aU
10
..
_teo
.
Ir.tri<.
,,~
mr ... _ III. "
,,".
_II
UMIT
_lUam_
IolloopUbbolo
..
"oIf
lloo
ol.mpll.lHpodtoIrtoa
,
I,,,,".
__
,.....u.
u...
Nt"" •
~-
CAa
POOU
_
t:oa_
£>:
......
c~
k!tlo
""""
.....
ot
IoNl
'I'M
tkrft
___
"",,,
I'f
e e
-.poo
......
-
.-
..
-.
....
IOIIl.".!:r
1o
~-'"
...
-mpt-
.
.
,,""
..
...
";01
,'0lil<100
It
•
...w.,;
nT.l\ft'T
_
Cotruno
..
ill
wI!~11
"'"
.tIr.
,'fliclft,
.nd
LIN
..
me
1'<1"
Not
_
It
.;,pI
, tl _
__
__
..
"empI
lIMo.
II
I.,.
01'"
tll
.
,orle
. UIodrl
";'I
b
..
.
tallllcl,pt_.
P
.,.11.
~1."""loolc..
""",ia~""""
r
.rlec..uo"
_otW
__
II.
bolt"'"
u.._oI.ll.popu.
01
_
tI!S
,..w.
'!'lot
,.........,.
_I
.......
tt«wu*'
1ftllIloo.
...
1lm1
Towa of
Toea.lllIw
lell
Ittlp fro
..
lIepbe
'll',
5, as th
ty
aU1(1o;
roo
l·
ItI
Ch drlfll
It
2::88
Puller
Blvd
.
•••
_-.-
. _
...
to
_Iod
.1H\oIwr
....
_.......-1
_.t-.
_
......
,
_pi.
I
...
1M
Pfl'IALTY
_"..oln"
~:",'iil:~
~::ift.
'0":
:'da~;on
I .....
ol
.p
"-
=.~~:,:
..
::!~
'--
--
----'
l"-..
.....
G
...
_
... _
,I,to,
......
!.-tIli
..........
ol
.,,,,,ll
,II
...
.....
~
.
P
...
1I.
1ft th
l!!
N
.t
l
...
4...,-1"'
.......
-
....
...,
WI
Wuld
..
1J\CI
""I'
tIoot
....
__
....... •
"'""'"
_ f\II
v--.u..
III
Jj/t
......
"
...........
'
GK
II
••
u../Ioal_n
...
'"
!lot
7ft
......
'
11.1
bill ..... .
-.I
I •
...,.
_rl
...
.
'-">1
tho 1
1Ubl
UI
..
,opol1od
fot
LIN
-ot
....
"..."Iloo~
..
.
'!'lot
....,,""
"
J'
....
nIl
...
lor
all
01
1m.
10
tiM
wlllo
n·
pocIotioa • ..,. Wall
5
1r
e~1
....
~
,
__
GK
'. _
_ ,..,nu 1..- mt ....
1m
Snow Fighters Glimpse
'Some Sort of Normalcy'
lii0i.-
....
....,..,....
......
It
ttl..,....,I1
...
.-.1 • • H • • • d
__
.....
~
,
..
I
~
..
".
•••
~
.....
pa.,.o,
.--
~
.
",,,,,,,I
Iud
....
. .
Id
_ •
......tio~
.
Ho.~''''.
C",-.lIoIo
Couolti
~
G.
r_c.
""_
/Pt
.u ..
__
wiII
.......
,....
c.r._olQOtom
....
;oU
_"'
..
01
........
...
_
....
-
......
..
_pIoJw;
.
..
:!JoIIlo
lor wort
.t
W,tImo
."
fl<fotol_
....
tIIo
....
.
u..
",
.....
,,_.lItuoI/wItIIllJ
•
6rsoo_
~
f
....
_ll
1000
....
_,
JInI1
"..
.......
""
......
tH_
1II_
..
_al",
t_.
~nns"'n
...
,.da
y.
iI
...
""
..
"'loll1"\oot~~
..
__
_
.....
IIJ7
...
~10
._01
......
_
......
...
1I10I0
.
..........
-
_
'1...-10
-"_
" n.
wml.
'II'T'/'I:lIII-'
Fig
ur
e
3.
Buffalo,
NY
Newspaper
Headline
Announ
ci
ng End
of
Driving
Ban
--
One
Week
After
End
of
Storm.
throughout
the
area.
The
Army
flew
in
300
men
from
Fort
Bragg,
Ne, and
the
National
G
uard
deployed
perso
n
nel
into
the
area
to
assist
in
snow
removal.
The
total
economic
loss
to
the
Bu
ffalo
area
in
sto
rm damage,
snow
removal
costs
,
lost
wages,
and
lost
production
was
estimated
at
250
million
dol-
lars
(Environmental
Data
Service,
1977).
At
the
end
of
the
storm
period,
I
had
the
oppor-
tunity
to
be
taken
on a
tour
of
the
Buffalo
area
by
meteorologists,
Ben
Kolker
and
Ed
Sarnowski
(both
of
the
Buffalo
National
Weather
Service
Forecast
Office)
so
that
I
could
take
photographs
of
the
city
as
it
be
-
gan
to
dig
out.
Fig
u
res
4
through
8
illus-
trate
some
of
the
sce
n
es
observed
in
the
Buffalo
area
following
this
blizzard.
In
looking
back
over
the
entire
winter
sea-
son
at
Buffalo,
several
new
snowfall
records
were
estab
l
ished
(Table
1)
. The
snowfall
amounts
observed
d
uring
the
three
successive
months,
November-
Ja
n
uary,
were
new
records
for
Buffalo
(observations
go
back
to
the
T,fJIL£
1-
SnCl""
fal
l
Statistic.
[o
r
Buffalo
,
!O'
.
1976-17
Snowfa
ll
Record
Snowfall
Prior
to
(1n
inchea)
1976-77
(In
inchu),
"".
Oc
t
ober
0.2
6.0,
(l909)
November
31
.
J*
28.6.
(
19~9
)
Dece.
...
ber
60.7*
51
.1.
(l94S)
January
68.3*
SO.6.
(194S)
February
22.1
54 . 2 ,
(19S8)
March
13.5
)8.5,
(19)6)
April
2. 2
15,7,
(J88S)
H
.y
o.
,
S.2,
(1909)
SnCl""fall
Season
199.""
126
.4,
(1909
-1
0)
*
New
Reco
r d,
1976-77
1870's).
The
annual
snowfall
r
ecord
which
was
established
in
1909- 10 was
exceeded
by
73
i n
ches
during
this
past
winter
setting
a
new
record
of
199. 4
inches
of
snow.
Finall
y,
the
53
consecutive
days
of
observed
snow-
fall
at
the
Buffalo
forecast
office
(Decem-
ber
20,
1976
through
Februa
ry
10,
1977)
ex-
ceeded
the
old
record
(which
had
been
Figure
5.
Lake
Erie
Shore,
Near
Buffalo,NY
- -
Note
resident
had
to
~~~~~
dig
out
from
attic
t o
clear
snow
from
the
front
door.
(NOAA
photo
by
Ken
Dewey.)
Figure
4.
The
Digging
Out
of
Urban
Streets
Following
the
Jan.
28-Feb.
1 Snowstorm.
(NOAA
photo
by
Ken
Dewey.)
Figure
6.
Buffalo
,
NY,
Residen-
tia
l Area
After
the
Blizzard
--
Driveway had
to
be
cleared
of
lO~foot
snowdrifts
.
(NOAA
photo
by
Ken
Dewe
y
.)
35
36
Figure
8.
Suburban
Buffalo,
NY
(Hamburg,
NY)
--
Snow
dirfted
completely
over
two
houses.
Note
chimney
and
crest
of
roof
of
first
house
is
barely
visible
in
center
of
photo
and ,
only
a
portion
of
the
roof
edge
of
the
second
house
is
visible
in
th
e
center
of
the
left
margin
of
th
e
photo.
(NOAA
photo
by
Ken
Dewey)
equalled
on
several
occasions)
by
some
lJ
days.
The amount
of
snowfall
at
Buffalo
could
have
been
even
greater
were
it
not
for
the
fact
that
Lake
Erie
had
frozen
over
(limiting
the
vertical
transport
of
heat
and
moisture)
by
late
January
virtually
end-
ing
this
season
's
lake-e
ffect
snowfall.
Al-
though,
it
is
no
consolation
for
the
resi-
dents
of
Buffalo,
snowfall
amounts
just
to
the
south
and
west
of
Buffalo
were
75
inches
greater
for
the
1976-77
snowfall
season
.
REFERENCES
Environmental
Data
Service,
NOAA
,
1977:
Storm Data - January 19??, V
19,
9pp.
Wagner,
J.A.,
1977:
The
Record
-Br
eaking
Winter
of
1976-77
. Weatherwise, V
3D
, pp
65-
69.
Wiggin,
B.L.,
1950:
Great
Snows
of
the
Great
Lakes.
Weatherwise, V
3,
pp
123-126.
Figure
7.
Suburban
Buffalo,
NY
(Hamburg,
NY)
--
Snowdrifts
as
large
as
houses.
(NOAA
photo
by
Ken
Dewey.)
