BuffaloWeather

I guess it makes a big difference if 30" is the cut off instead of 3'. My southern limit is Eden out to East Aurora.

I would say the rate of a big time event is about every 2-3 years for the Southtowns and every 5-6 years for Metro Buffalo.

DECEMBER 17 1983 Lake effect snowsqualls raged on the 17th and 18th. A narrow band of snow dumped up to three feet of snow in places, forcing a ban on unnecessary travel in a handful of communities. The heavy snow, often falling at the rate of two inches per hour, fell on Lackawanna, Hamburg, East Aurora, Orchard Park, and West Seneca. In West Seneca, where snow totaled 30 inches, a roof of an automobile repair shop collapsed damaging the cars inside. In the town of Hamburg, the weight of snow caused the collapse of the roofs of 12 garages at an apartment complex. Portions of Route 5 and the Thruway were closed on the 17th and remained so until the 18th. Schools in the affect areas were closed on Monday the 19th.

DECEMBER 10 1937 Today's snow storm in north Buffalo (Hertel Ave. section, the Tonawandas, Sheridan Drive, Eggertsville, and other communities) was probably the most sensational and costly in the history of the Buffalo area. Losses to business, cost of opening up the sections snowed under, loss of wages to hundreds of employees, etc., from the storm conditions beginning on the 8th, were estimated at $2,000,000, although the real figure will never be known. At least one other death was attributed to this storm, making four for the week. Four to six days after the storm, full recovery had not been brought about, in spite of herculean efforts day and night; but most of the main highways were open by Sunday, the 12th. The storm of the 10th was made much more severe by the fact that heavy snow (13.5 inches on Hertel Ave. or twice as much as downtown) fell in the same districts on the 8th. Snowfall (accumulated from both storms) on the ground at Hertel Ave. and Colvin at 3pm of the 10th was 37 inches; and on Crescent Ave. at Oakwood, 31 inches. Yet it is a fact that the real "heavy snow" district in the northern suburbs was north of Hertel Ave.; one of our observers living in that section reported that the actual fall of snow from 3pm of the 9th to 3pm of the 10th was up to his waist. Snowfall was commonly three or four feet deep on the level in such suburbs as Kenmore, and five to eight feet more in great drifts. Many stalled or parked automobiles were completely snowed under. Some of the drifts were so bad that they could not be removed by machinery. WOW! One resident in the Sheridan Dr. section telephones the Weather Bureau Office on the afternoon of the 10th, "drifts are ten feet high outside our windows." Eggerstville was also one of the places to report great drifts. River Rd. through Tonawanda was closed several days by the drifts. Airplane traffic at the Buffalo Airport was at a standstill for five days. It was not until the 13th that the field was sufficiently cleared of snow for planes to land or take off.

A forgotten storm for city of Buffalo DECEMBER 1 1979 A lake-effect snow storm from November 30th through December 1st dumped two to three feet of snow on the south towns from the 29th to the 30th then moved northward into metropolitan Buffalo. At the Buffalo Airport, 20.1 inches of snow was measured from 7am on the 30th to 7am on the 1st. This was the second greatest 24 hour snowfall on record. Before the onset of the storm only 0.1 of an inch had been recorded for the season. The heavy snow stranded hundreds of motorists and forced the town of Lancaster to declare a State of Emergency. The weight of the snow collapsed part of a roof on a large building in that town. Areas to the north of Buffalo received very little snow from the storm.

NOVEMBER 30 1975 Lake snows--Nov. 29th-30th...Following a blast of very cold arctic air from central Canada the lake storm began on the 29th dumping 1 to 2 feet of snow south of Buffalo. During the early morning hours of the 30th the storm moved northward and struck northern Erie county including the city of Buffalo. It dumped 1 to 2 feet of snow over the city in just a few hours before moving farther northward to Grand Island, the Tonawandas, and Niagara Falls. The snow and wind in the city created near blizzard conditions nearly paralyzing morning rush hour traffic and closing many area schools. During the mid afternoon the storm moved southward through the city again making evening rush hour driving conditions even worse than the morning. The storm continued southward and stalled overnight south of Buffalo leaving totals up to 4 feet of snow in parts of southern Erie county. Numerous schools and main roads were forced to close. States of Emergency were declared in the towns of Evans and Angola.

NOVEMBER 23 1970 The season's first big lake-effect snow (off Lake Erie) hit western New York early in the day. The storm began in a band from Lackawanna to 15 miles southward that stretched inland as far as Batavia. It later shifted into Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties. The Thruway was closed at first from Buffalo to the Pennsylvania line then later in the day from Buffalo to Rochester. Areas hardest hit were central Erie, northern Wyoming, and Genesee counties. A State of Emergency was declared in the town of Evans in the face of two feet deep snow and drifts estimated to 12 feet. Snow depths of nearly three feet were reported in Hamburg. Strong winds added to the virtual isolation of some of the traditional snowbelt areas to the south and east. Buffalo and most communities to the north escaped the brunt of the snow. November has some huge events, especially 2nd half.

NOVEMBER 22 1956 Nov. 21st-22nd...The Thanksgiving Day snowstorm on the 22nd followed a westerly gale on the 21st (fastest mile 56 mph from the southwest) striking heaviest from central Erie and Wyoming counties southward. Four feet of snow was reported from the Springville area. (Only a trace was received at the Buffalo Airport.)

2005 NOVEMBER 17 The first lake effect event of the season brought over a foot of heavy, wet snow to the areas downwind of Lake Erie while areas east of Lake Ontario received seven to ten inches. Off Lake Erie, the heavy snow, falling at the rate of 2" per hour, concentrated within an eight mile wide stip from the lake shore near Silver Creek and Angola, across Hamburg, Orchard Park, East Aurora, Elma and Alden. The weight of the wet snow caused several buildings to collapse, including a large bowling in Hamburg. Specific snow totals included: 18" at Elma; 17" at Marilla; 16" at Orchard Park and Hamburg; 14" at Bennington; 13" at East Aurora; 9" at Carthage and Harrisville; 8" at Darien and 7" at Beaver Falls.

It's an awesome page. You can see so many forgotten lake effect events with it.

Have you seen this page before? https://www.weather.gov/buf/wxhis.html NOVEMBER 5 1982 A lake-effect squall dumped 12.3 inches of very heavy snow in the metropolitan Buffalo area. Traffic was tied up for hours late in the afternoon and considerable tree damage was reported due to the weight of the snow. The 12.3 inches broke a record for the date and also broke a record for the biggest snowfall so early in the season.

I could have sworn there was one in the 50s that was pretty huge. The mid 50s featured quite a few big events in the book. Would have to double check when I get home. As you can see South Buffalo to Hamburg is the usual jackpot zone for the larger events.

A recap of last years winter. The last 2 winters have been great for many of us here in Buffalo https://www.weather.gov/buf/wintersummary1819

New Thread:

CPC for D/J/F J-F-M

Well it's that time again. Everyone's favorite thread of the year. First flakes will be flying in a few weeks if the law of averages wins out. It looks like we will see Neutral ENSO conditions this winter as of this writing. I have not updated these charts for the last 2 winters. An early guess would be 5-10% above seasonal norms as weak/neutral ENSO usually results in our best winters. The 6-10/8-14 outlook looks normal/slightly above normal FIRST SNOWFALL IN FALL: BUFFALO AVERAGE First Flake Oct 24 First Measurable (.1" or more) Nov 8 First Inch Nov 18 EARLIEST EVER First Flake Sep 20, 1956 First Measurable (.1" or more) Oct 6, 1991 First Inch Oct 10, 1906 LATEST EVER First Measurable (.1" or more) Dec 18, 2015 First Inch Jan 3, 1923 ROCHESTER AVERAGE First Flake Oct 23 First Measurable (.1" or more) Nov 8 First Inch Nov 20 EARLIEST EVER First Flake Sep 20, 1956 First Measurable (.1" or more) Oct 12, 2006 First Inch Oct 24, 1960 LATEST EVER First Measurable (.1" or more) Dec 10, 1948 First Inch Dec 28, 2015

If you get the book Buffalo Snowstorms, you will see there have been many huge events throughout the years in WNY. There was one in the 50s that rivaled November 2014.

Would love to see a chart to show how many broken high temps vs low temps we've had the last few decades.

Looks like it has Rochester in the jackpot zone for snowfall across the entire US. Looking good.

Have been sick for a month straight with these constant fluctuations. Killing me.

Just going through the events and noticed something in regards to November 2014. Wales Center reported 48" for the first event and 49" for the second event for a storm total of 97".

This one I'd consider that. https://www.weather.gov/buf/lesEventArchive?season=2016-2017&event=E

Yeah that's pretty tough to get in Metro Buffalo. I would say that was our once every 5 year event.

Last year Buffalo had 2 20"+ events. What would you consider big? Springville and the ski country get 3' events every year. I would consider a big one 3' or more for someone between Eden and the Northtowns.

We usually get a big one once every 5 years. We're going to be getting neutral Enso conditions which is prime for a solid winter. The first LES event last year was Nov 9th so around 5 weeks out for the start of LES season. https://www.weather.gov/buf/lesEventArchive?season=2018-2019&event=A