Piling Up in Buffalo

January 14, 2002

Let it Snow...
It's been a record-breaking winter in Buffalo, New York. For the first time, the city saw no snow in November. But Mother Nature made up for it with an astonishing 82.7 inches — almost 7 feet — of snow in December, putting December 2001 into the record books as Buffalo's snowiest month. This figure is extraordinary because it's about four times Buffalo's average snowfall for December, and it far surpasses the old record of 68.5 inches set in December 1985. On top of that, 82.7 inches is about 90% of the snow Buffalo usually gets in an entire winter.

Of the 82.7 inches that fell last month, 81.6 inches fell in a relentless snowstorm that lasted five days from December 24th. The Buffalo Weather Service has ranked the storm, nicknamed "Bald Eagle," in the top five in Buffalo's history. President Bush declared a state of emergency, Buffalo National Airport closed for a time, there was a ban on private vehicles, and the National Guard was called in to help with snow removal.

The city coped admirably, aided by the fact that schools were closed and many people were off work for the holiday period. The greatest challenge was keeping the streets clear of rapidly-falling snow. Now, two weeks after the storm ended, the city has dump sites with piles of snow that are a couple of hundred feet high.

Last week, the city of Rochester asked to "borrow" snow from Buffalo for its winter festival. Read the article "Buffalo offering snow to go" on CNN.com.

Read an account of "Bald Eagle" from the Buffalo weather service.

Here are some questions for you to try.

The snow depth on December 28th set a new record of 44 inches. Explain why there is a difference between the snow depth and the snowfall (which was almost 80 inches by December 28th).

The all-time 24-hour record for snow in Buffalo was 37.9 inches in December, 1995. What was the average snowfall per hour?

The present snowy season has reinforced Buffalo's reputation as the "snow capital" of the eastern United States. It also has brought back memories from 25 years ago: In 1977, there were 28 straight days of snow in January. The month culminated in a blizzard that killed 29 people, caused $300 million in damage, and kept stores and schools closed for a week.

Flakes from the Lakes
Why is Buffalo the recipient of so much annual snowfall? As real estate agents are fond of saying, "Location, location, location!" Buffalo stands just to the east of Lake Erie, one of the five Great Lakes. During the winter months, this immense body of water can turn into a snowmaking machine.

Meteorologists refer to this local phenomenon as "Lake Effect Snow." According to the National Weather Service, Lake Effect Snow requires three main ingredients:

Relatively warm water: The water temperature in Lake Erie tends to stay above freezing. (This winter, conditions were ideal for the generation of a massive snowstorm, because the warm fall and early-winter weather kept surface of the lake largely free of ice.)

A source of cold air: The location of Lake Erie between Canada and the United States places it in the path of the strong arctic air masses that descend from our neighbor to the north. The heat and moisture from the lake rises into this arctic air and condenses into snow clouds.

Wind: The wind carries these clouds across the water to land, and since the winds generally move west to east, Buffalo receives a constant flow of storm clouds.

You can view a diagram of how this process works.

Because Lake Effect Snow contains so much moisture, it rapidly accumulates when it reaches land. Also, this condition is not like other weather systems which are built around strong areas of low pressure and follow defined tracks over and away from land. In contrast, Lake Erie can keep churning out snow almost indefinitely, so long as the cold air keeps meeting the warmer water.

The Positive Sides
Meteorologists stress that the weather patterns creating Lake Effect Snow bring benefits during other seasons.

In the summer, water temperatures are lower than temperatures on land. So the flow of air over the lakes provides a kind of natural air conditioning. The moderate temperatures and the moist climate create excellent conditions for upstate New York's fruit and vegetable crops.

In winter, the extraordinary amount of snow makes for ideal skiing and snowboarding.

Snow Capitals
Many parts of upstate New York receive as much as 200 inches in snowfall annually. In that snowy winter of 1976-1977, the town of Hooker recorded a grand total of 466 inches.

Express this snowfall amount in feet.

The map below shows the average annual snowfall in upstate New York. Each line on the map indicates the number of annual inches. The average snowfall for the areas covered by the colored bands falls somewhere between the numbers on the two lines surrounding each band.

More Links
Learn about the how and why of Lake Effect Snow, courtesy of the National Weather Service.

Check out Buffalo's current weather forecast and snowfall totals.

Which city is closest to the band with the heaviest snowfall?

According to this map, how many inches of snow does Buffalo receive on average? How does this year's accumulation so far compare to the average?

How much average annual snowfall does Toronto (TOR), Canada, receive? What might explain the difference between this total and the totals for Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse?


		Earth's Harshest Weather Read about the extreme conditions of winter on New Hampshire's Mt. Washington in this archive article.



		Winter Light Read this archive article about how the lack of light affects us in winter time.