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Eug Wanker · 08:35 AM

Luckily not here in Toronto. It started to snow here briefly but no snow stayed on the ground. However, just across the lake...

Buffalo wasn't so lucky. They got 55 cm!

A rare early October snowstorm left parts of the Great Lakes and Midwest blanketed with 2 feet of snow Friday morning, prompting widespread blackouts, closing schools and halting traffic.

The snow downed scores of tree limbs and toppled power lines, leaving more than 220,000 customers without electricity in western New York.

By early Friday, 14 inches of snow had been recorded at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, with reports of 2 feet elsewhere, said Tom Paone, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The snowfall was expected to continue throughout the morning, he said.

On Thursday, 8.3 inches of heavy snow set the record for the "snowiest" October day in Buffalo in the 137-year history of the weather service, said meteorologist Tom Niziol. The previous record of 6 inches was set October 31, 1917.

"This is an extremely rare event for this early in the season," Niziol said.

Detroit also set a record, its for the earliest measured snow. On Thursday, the city broke by one day the mark set on October 13, 1909.

voodoo · Oct 13, 2006, 07:55 AM

Surprisingly it is still summer here. (not being serious) 24 C and 15 C inland. Snow? Maybe in January/February. Then again, maybe not.

I like snow. I guess I'll have to head to the mountains.

V

Dork. · Oct 13, 2006, 07:56 AM

We got nuthin' here....

Dakar · Oct 13, 2006, 08:23 AM

I woke up to frost this morning, which would explain why I heard the house settling all night last night.

residentEvil · Oct 13, 2006, 08:24 AM

uhm, living in detroit...no, we didn't. there were several whiteout conditions, but detroit has no standing snow. lansing/howell area did having standing snow yesterday afternoon/early evening. not much, but the grass was covered.

Eug Wanker · Oct 13, 2006, 08:36 AM

Originally Posted by residentEvil

uhm, living in detroit...no, we didn't. there were several whiteout conditions, but detroit has no standing snow. lansing/howell area did having standing snow yesterday afternoon/early evening. not much, but the grass was covered.

Yeah, I took out that reference to Detroit now. I misread the article. The snow set a record in your city... for the earliest snowfall, but it wasn't a huge amount. Buffalo OTOH...

BTW, in Canada the Niagara region got hit a bit. Nothing too serious though from what I gather. Interesting that Dork says that Rochester got nuthin' either, but I guess it's a fair ways away from Buffalo with a somewhat different climate.

In Toronto it's cold today (3ºC) but there is no snow (yet) here either. Nonetheless, my plants aren't going to be too happy...

residentEvil · Oct 13, 2006, 08:44 AM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Yeah, I took out that reference to Detroit now. I misread the article. The snow set a record in your city... for the earliest snowfall, but it wasn't a huge amount. Buffalo OTOH...

BTW, in Canada the Niagara region got hit a bit. Nothing too serious though from what I gather. Interesting that Dork says that Rochester got nuthin' either, but I guess it's a fair ways away from Buffalo with a somewhat different climate.

In Toronto it's cold today (3ºC) but there is no snow (yet) here either. Nonetheless, my plants aren't going to be too happy...

yup, just earliest snow fall. it is awesome. bring on the snow for the game this afternoon too! i love it!

osiris · Oct 13, 2006, 09:16 AM

Nothing in NYC, except a cold front. I think it hit 43.
Time to move to a warmer climate.

Andy8 · Oct 13, 2006, 09:18 AM

Cool

ThinkInsane · Oct 13, 2006, 09:22 AM

Great. I have to drive to Buffalo to pick someone up at the airport. She's never seen snow before, so she'll be happy. I won't, but she will.

Now I just have to figure out how to get there with the thruway closed. My days shapin' up like ass already.

Eug Wanker · Oct 13, 2006, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by ThinkInsane

Great. I have to drive to Buffalo to pick someone up at the airport. She's never seen snow before, so she'll be happy. I won't, but she will.

Now I just have to figure out how to get there with the thruway closed. My days shapin' up like ass already.

They haven't closed the airport?

Dakar · Oct 13, 2006, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

They haven't closed the airport?

They're waiting for him to get most of the way there.

Dork. · 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by ThinkInsane

Now I just have to figure out how to get there with the thruway closed. My days shapin' up like ass already.

Good luck with that! Try Rts. 5 and 20, or 20A. Take the Thruway to Henrietta, then go South on 390 until you hit whichever one you want. Heck, you could even go down to Rt. 17, and then back up on 219, if you think 5/20 and 20A are going to be bad....

Dork. · Oct 13, 2006, 11:12 AM

Rochester is only an hour away from Buffalo. But Lake Effect snow is funny that way: it all depends on which way the wind is blowing, and is relatively short range.

Mastrap · Oct 13, 2006, 11:52 AM

I was in Cambridge yesterday, for a meeting with a guy from Owen Sound. He had snow all the way back home, heading south-east to Toronto we had nothing.

There were flurries on the way home yesterday, but that was it.

brassplayersrock² · Oct 13, 2006, 12:10 PM

not a thing here in Boston, except for frost warnings

Railroader · Oct 13, 2006, 06:51 PM

Here's what I woke up to yesterday in Kalamazoo.

And here are images of my drive home. I was just south of Lansing. Averaged about 15 mph for an hour or so.

Dark Helmet · Oct 13, 2006, 06:53 PM

45 min North of Toronto they got an inch of snow.

Eug · Oct 14, 2006, 02:52 PM

Hailing in Toronto.

ghporter · Oct 14, 2006, 08:58 PM

Here in San Antonio we got a "cold front," which means we actually got a change in wind and temperature. It's now about 75ºF (~24ºC) and that's about as high as it's gotten. Quite a nice change from highs in the 90s last week! And we had RAIN!!! YAY!

Buckaroo · Oct 14, 2006, 10:39 PM

Snow. We don't get snow here in El Segundo, CA.

Railroader · Oct 14, 2006, 11:01 PM

Originally Posted by Buckaroo

Snow. We don't get snow here in El Segundo, CA.

Sledding must really suck then eh?

turtle777 · Oct 14, 2006, 11:06 PM

Originally Posted by Railroader

Sledding must really suck then eh?

Not necessarily

-t

Railroader · Oct 14, 2006, 11:18 PM

How about snow ball fights then?

Kerrigan · Oct 14, 2006, 11:20 PM

I hate winter

btober · Oct 14, 2006, 11:43 PM

I'm from/live in Buffalo, but I'm currently in Savannah, Georgia for school. I love snow and I'm quite disappointed that I missed this early snowfall, but I've heard from my parents that this wasn't just a normal snowfall for Buffalo. The power at my house has been off since early Friday morning and isn't expected to go back on until Tuesday at the earliest. Plus, about 80% of the trees in my neighborhood have been damaged beyond salvage and will have to be cut down, including two massive trees that pretty much define the landscaping in my yard. It's too bad, really.

- - e r i k - - · Oct 15, 2006, 05:16 AM

Phew. It's really heating up down here. We were absolutely drained away in sweat today. 27�C+!

D. S. Troyer · Oct 15, 2006, 05:27 AM

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

Phew. It's really heating up down here. We were absolutely drained away in sweat today. 27�C+!

Some of us aren't pussies and actually like winter and snow, but this is the earliest on record...well since records were kept and also not during the ice age.

Otherwise it's been predicted to be a mild winter around here so I'm getting out my long johns and parka.

Eug Wanker · Oct 18, 2006, 03:34 PM

Originally Posted by Railroader

How about snow ball fights then?

We'd pop by the local ice rink in the summer... They'd resurface the ice and throw all the shavings outside. Basically it was a big pile of fake snow that would stick around for a few hours if it wasn't too hot outside. Perfect for summertime snowball fights.

Originally Posted by btober

I'm from/live in Buffalo, but I'm currently in Savannah, Georgia for school. I love snow and I'm quite disappointed that I missed this early snowfall, but I've heard from my parents that this wasn't just a normal snowfall for Buffalo. The power at my house has been off since early Friday morning and isn't expected to go back on until Tuesday at the earliest. Plus, about 80% of the trees in my neighborhood have been damaged beyond salvage and will have to be cut down, including two massive trees that pretty much define the landscaping in my yard. It's too bad, really.

Buffalo still reeling after snowstorm

More than 100,000 New York customers remained without power Wednesday and schools were still closed nearly a week after a record-setting snowstorm, and officials raised the toll of storm-related deaths to 12 people.

Health officials said the deaths include one person hit by a falling tree limb, three killed by carbon monoxide and two who died shovelling snow.

Dork. · Oct 18, 2006, 03:57 PM

Early snow in Western New York is mostly very light and fluffy. It's very beautiful when you're only getting an inch at a time!

But too much of it too early in the season will wreak havoc on trees, Especially if the leaves haven't all fallen yet. the trees end up carrying much more snow than they usuallly do. Snow is quite heavy in quantities of a foot or more!

Buffalo normally gets heavy lake-effect snow earlier than Rochester, because of the prevailing wind patterns over the lakes. (Lake Erie for Buffalo and Lake Ontario for Rochester.) Buffalo normally gets hit with a doozy sometime between thanksgiving and christmas. Rochester gets theirs in January-ish. I remember one year where we had a small accumulation of about six inches on Sunday -- then the exact same thing every day for the rest of the week! Driving was a pain, and I was in a training session at work, so I had to show up on time every day. I think all the area snowplows were in 24/7 operation!