Buffalo Blizzard All-Time Record For October Storm - 300K w/o Power - AFP

[hatrack]

Unseasonable heavy snow caused havoc in western New York on Friday, with record flurries leaving roads blocked, power lines down and hundreds of thousands without electricity, officials said.

The Buffalo area, near the border with Canada, on Friday saw the heaviest snowfall for a single October day since records began being kept in 1870, meteorologists at the National Weather Service said, as snow continued to fall. Parts of the region had seen up to 60 centimetres (two feet) of snow by early Friday, with up to 12 centimetres more expected, they said.

Dennis Michalski from the State Emergency Management Office said many roads had been closed, people were being advised not to travel and states of emergency had been declared in some local areas.

Power companies were unable to provide an immediate estimate of how many people were without power, but Michalski said 300,000 customers were cut off. He said emergency crews were out trying to assess the extent of the damage and could not say when power would be restored.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2006/061013155133.3em6bto1.html

[Not Me]

1. My family lives in the area...

They are taking it all in stride; if there is any city in the world that can handle snow removal it is Buffalo.
Things will be back to normal in a day or two.

[Iwasthere]

2. And we have roasting in Oregon all year (actually several years)

There are actually southern palm trees growing here in salem now (we have consistantly had higher temps this year over LA). Only a few traces of rain in months (even though the weather sites show lots of rain, this I find extremely curious). I am actually looking forward to winter this year. Tired of the heat, AND I LIVED IN HAWAII FOR THREE YEARS!

[burythehatchet]

3. WOW

that's some serious precip

[phantom power]

4. warm great lakes + cold air mass = lake effect snow band from hell

A few years ago, a monster lake effect band sat on top of Buffalo for like five days. They got seven feet of snow that week. We ended up flying from Erie instead of Buffalo, or we'd have been Trapped In Western NY.

[jpak]

5. And the air doesn't have to be that cold either

0 degrees C (32o F) is all it takes...