Blizzard of 1977
In addition to the roads becoming impassable, motorists had to deal with vehicles breaking down due to the combination of very cold temperatures, very high winds and blowing snow.
[5] A strong blocking high developed over the Arctic Ocean during January, and this moved the polar vortex to southern Canada, south of its normal location.
[23] On Wednesday evening, snow squalls and high winds hit Wyoming, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Erie counties in western New York.
[32] That morning observers on the 16th floor of the M&T Bank Building in Buffalo watched as a gray wall covered the city; it appeared white as it came closer.
In addition to the roads becoming impassable, motorists also had to deal with vehicles breaking down due to the combination of very cold temperatures, very high winds, and blowing snow.
[44] A report from Welland, Ontario, (see section below for a description of the blizzard in Canada) indicated many cars overheated when snow got under the radiator, melted, and then refroze, interfering with the fan.
[53] Authorities estimated 13,000 people were stranded Friday night in downtown Buffalo and that many in the surrounding areas as well — e.g. 1,700 at Bell Aerosystems in Wheatfield, 2,500 at Harrison Radiator Company in Lockport.
[67] Firemen used snowmobiles to rescue trapped people, and to transport nurses and doctors to the hospitals;[68] they also used four-wheel drive vehicles to deliver medicine.
[69] On Friday, volunteers on four-wheel drive vehicles and snowmobiles delivered food (a few thousand dollars worth every 45 minutes) for the Salvation Army from their Buffalo headquarters.
[70] The Red Cross opened eight shelters in Erie County, New York, on Friday, and snowmobile clubs provided volunteers to deliver food, blood and medicine.
[79] Buffalo city plows and NYSDOT equipment were able to open several major roads (Main, Broadway, Michigan, Sycamore, Walden, Fillmore, Ohio, and much of South Park and Delaware).
[84] In Newstead approximately 30 ft (9.1 m) drifts led to the suspension of even emergency snowmobile traffic due to the power line danger.
[86] Most roads in Cheektowaga were closed by snow overnight Sunday, and the fire department was "checking houses snow-covered to their roofs to make sure nobody was freezing or suffocating".
[85] The supervisor of the Town of Clarence, in addition to ordering all motorists ticketed, authorized the fire department to seize gasoline to prevent driving, if necessary.
[85] An early Sunday morning helicopter tour by Erie County Sheriff Ken Braun had revealed about 125 cars and trucks almost totally buried in the Lancaster area, as well as a young man leaning against a street light strung across an intersection.
[94] Thursday morning, February 3, Mayor Makowski lifted the travel ban without consulting state or federal officials, and many people drove into Buffalo.
[100] A state of emergency continued or was declared in additional areas, including Alden, Brant, Evans, Lancaster, Newstead, North Collins, Wales, and West Seneca.
[116] The USACE Buffalo District overall effort (including both western and northern New York) reported $6.8 million used in paying 216 private contractors to plow 3,186 miles of road in 9 counties using about 1,000 pieces of equipment and US$700,000 of in-house costs.
[36] The blizzard was made unique by the sustained winds, gusting up to 69 mph (111 km/h), which picked up the snowdrifts piled on the frozen Lake Erie and dumped that snow load in western New York and southern Ontario.
[36] The Buffalo Area Chamber of Commerce estimated a total economic loss for Erie and Niagara counties combined of US$221,490,000 for the 5.5-day period starting on January 28, with 175,000 people losing wages of US$36,250,000.
Areas of Southern Ontario as far away as London to the west, Kitchener to the northwest, and Toronto to the northeast also experienced high winds and blowing snow, particularly on January 28.
[142] In Wainfleet, one resident reported early in the storm the wind broke a window facing the lake and snow rapidly began drifting in the house, which caused significant damage.
[143] In the Lowbanks area, a resident reported the storm smashed in windows and collapsed doors; they had lost power and heat and were burning furniture in the fireplace to keep warm.
[164] One effect of the prolonged confinement at home many people experienced in the fall of that year was a marked increase in births at local hospitals (almost 18% in Regional Niagara in Canada).
[171] The military, with reserves plus a 900-man infantry battalion,[172] was called in to assist clearing snow drifts and stranded people in the London area, but conditions there were not as serious as the southern Niagara Region, with four wheel-drive vehicles being generally sufficient for transportation.
[130] Kitchener had 3 hours of blizzard conditions (0 to 0.4 km visibility) the afternoon of January 28 with wind gusts up to 81 Km/h even though its total snow was only 5.7 cm that day.
[3] At the end of the blizzard period on February 1, a National Weather Service spotter at Barnes Corners, Lewis County, measured a snow depth of 108" on the level.
Anecdotal reports from eastern sections of the Tow of Lorraine, Jefferson County, which was close to the area of heaviest snowfall, estimated snow depths of ten feet.
[182] On February 9, about a week after the storm ended, the average snow depth in the Black River basin (about 2,000 sq mi (5,200 km2)) which include Jefferson, Lewis and other counties was 40.4 in (102.6 cm), having a liquid equivalent of 8.06 in (205 mm) that raised flooding concerns.
In it, the players drive around the board, trying to collect goods, such as groceries, bank, work, drug store, and hardware with 2 safe spots of home and gasoline, before the storm hits.
