Although the calendar technically still says it’s fall, winter weather has hit some areas in the United States full throttle. Buffalo, New York, was hit especially hard, reaching up to six feet of snow in some spots. This storm was no joke, causing 13 deaths. In two days, Buffalo snowfall exceeded as much as it typically gets in a year.
If you looked at Erie’s weather for last week you saw a prediction of 1-3 feet of snow on Tuesday. This lake effect snow moved past Erie, however, leaving us practically unscathed. Buffalo was not so lucky. The snow started Tuesday and pounded counties of Cheektowaga and Hamburg with 60-plus inches.
Citizens of Buffalo were extremely affected by the harsh conditions brought on by the snow. Theology teacher Mr. Ladouceur, who was born in Buffalo and lived there until he was 18, said, “The Buffalonians are a hearty people. I think they will be more than capable to weather the storm.”
The Niagara women’s basketball team was stranded on their bus for over 24 hours on their way back from their game against Pittsburgh. Buffalo Sabres star Patrick Kaleta couldn’t make it to their home game last Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks because he was snowed-in at his house.
Perhaps the biggest story has been the home game the Buffalo Bills were supposed to host against the New York Jets. The grounds crew was offering residents $10/hour and free tickets to the game to help them remove 220,000 tons of snow from the stadium. After review from the league however, the game was moved to Detroit on Monday night giving both teams more time to prepare. The tickets were given out for free as the Bills cruised to a win.
Now that the storm has finally passed, Buffalo is forced to face possibly an even bigger issue in flooding. With the a rise in temperatures over the weekend, the threat of floods is greater then ever with the huge amounts of melting snow. Buffalo has undergone a lot of hardships early but has pushed through them as a city.