Ready or not here comes the cold

[wvdexters]

As for the Buffalo area, last we heard was 9 ft in some areas with more snow forecasted. And that was hrs ago. We used to live in the Rome/Utica area not far from Syracuse. Way back in our younger days. I really feel for those people.

They say the plows won't work, just too deep. They are having to use construction equipment to dig in. People just don't realize how impossible and dangerous really deep snow is. Worst we've ever had to deal with here was 4 ft. Stopped everything for a week. No power, no water and no getting out.

[genebo]

I spoke with someone who lives near Buffalo. They are doing fine, but have one man plowing their long drive all day long. I was told it is in case of fire, so the fire equipment can get to them.

BRRRR!

[Donlin Stud]

I caught the news late and heard there was a season's dumping of snow in just two days - was this Buffalo?

The images were amazing.

I have never seen that much snow in my life. One person was shovelling snow from the walkway to his house and the side walls of snow were taller than he.

Absolutely horrible. But I did wonder if when it snowed like that, is it 'warmer' than if it was raining/sleety with icy gale force winds?

[lakeportfarms]

Donlin, lake effect off the Great Lakes is a rather interesting situation. You need a combination of relatively warm lake waters compared to the air temperature, wind, and atmospheric conditions that lead to the drawing of moisture off the lake. Buffalo had a perfect scenario with all of those, with strong, cold, consistent SW winds that used the entirety of the long narrow warm Lake Erie to dump snow over a fairly narrow band, maybe 50 miles or so. It's almost like a wall of snow, 10 miles away and they probable have just a few inches and sunny skies most of the time.

At the same time Buffalo was getting the snow, Michigan was getting it off of Lake Michigan and Superior, but because the lakes are colder, and more spread out, the snow is less intense but over a larger area. We also don't have quite the distance of "fetch" since the wind is out of the SW or West, because the lakes are oriented in a more North/South direction. The heaviest snow areas off Lake Michigan were "only" 30 inches or so this past week. It usually is a dry fluffy snow because the air temperatures are cold, but this early in the season it may have had a bit more water content. So I wouldn't say it was "warmer" than rain/sleet, but you can dress and prepare for it a bit more easily without getting soaked. It's definitely easier on the cows than rain/sleet.

Lake Erie is the shallowest of the lakes, and tends to be warmer, but it also freezes over more quickly. This shuts down the lake effect when it freezes. The other lakes stay open longer, so the lake effect can continue through most of the winter in those areas. So this cold weather in November, with strong winds out of the perfect direction, led to a historic snowfall for areas just South of Buffalo.

Our area here gets hammered when low pressure systems move to the East of us, which draws North or Northeast winds off Lake Huron. Areas without the lake effect just a bit inland may get 5", but we could get 25" out of the same storm. This usually occurs December through February for us.

Their big problem now is going to be rain and melting snow. It's due to get near 60 with rain early in the week, so if I lived there I would forget about my driveway and get up on the roof to shovel that first! A lot of houses around here now are going to metal standing seam roofs that shed the snow a bit more easily. The other problem a lot of roofs have is the snow over the living areas is melted a bit by the heat of the house, where the overhangs are cold and forms ice dams. This blocks the melting snow from running off the roof, and next thing you know your roof is leaking.

Fun stuff, huh?

[Deleted]

33 deg this morning its a heat wave. To be 55 Sunday.

Update went outside 6:00 to start and 1/2" of ICE please
mud snow anything but ice!

[genebo]

If you think it was bad here, check out this Russian scene.

www.wimp.com/commonsnowstorms/

[lonecowhand]

Genebo, BRRR is right! The Russian scenes are probably why my ancestors left for Sunny Wisconsin as opposed to Sunny Siberia!
Hoping all of you are faring well, warm and safe, during this "Gales of November come Early" time.