Thursday, January 29, 2009

Blizzard of '77 Anniversary

A look back 32 years ago, Im sure some of you remember this?

I was only 1, sadly I dont remember! I would LOVE to see this first hand!!! How cool would this be???



Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Blizzard of ’77 was a deadly blizzard that hit Buffalo, New York and the area around it in New York and Ontario (and to a lesser extent, surrounding regions) from January 28 to February 1, 1977. Daily peak gusts of 69, 51, 52, 58 and 46 miles per hour (111, 82, 84, 93, and 74 km/h) were recorded during this period at the Buffalo National Weather Service office (National Weather Service Buffalo Office 2006a).

In the hardest struck areas snowmobiles became the only viable method of transportation. In Western New York and Southern Ontario, snow built up on frozen Lake Erie and the snow cover on the ground over land at the start of the blizzard provided ample material for the high winds to blow around into huge drifts. The combination of bitter cold, high winds, and blowing snow paralyzed the areas most strongly affected by the storm. Lake Ontario was not frozen, which meant that northern New York did not have to deal with previously accumulated snow blowing off the lake’s surface. This did allow for considerable lake effect snow to occur, that when coupled with the existing snow cover and wind also created paralysis.







What an amazing thing! Altho, Im sure those that had to deal with it would say otherwise!

I would LOVE to hear your Blizzard of '77 stories and see photos if anyone has them!!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

OMGoodness... I couldn't imagine! These photos are unbelievable. Thank you for sharing.

Hoping you a Warm, Winter Day, Pamela

basketsnprims said...

Wow, unbelievable. I remember a couple terrible blizzards when we lived in the UP and snowmobile was the only transportation for a couple of days. I can't believe those guys touching the street lights. Thanks for sharing, Jenn. Have a great day.

hugs,
Pam

Anonymous said...

Although I was only 1 also, I have heard stories. I work for the board of Education in Ontario and work at a school in the country 2 years ago. A teacher there told me of the blizzard and how the whole school got snowed in and had to stay there for 4 days. People delivered food via snowmobil and took some of the youngest to homes nearby to be more comfortable. Hopefully we never have one like that again
Lisa

CozyGirl said...

Wow ! I can't imagine ! Thanks for sharing those pics Jenn !
Janae :-)

Janene said...

Jenn~
Thanks for bringing back those memories for me!
I was 9 at the time. My Mom worked at the hospital, 3rd shift, and she couldn't get home. My brother, sisters and I were trapped at home alone...We loved it! We still had electricity and heat!
I remember it being fun...although it probably wasn't for my Mom.
I still love being snowed in!
I know...I am crazy!!

Bella Della said...

That is amazing! Now, I want some snow, but not that much :)

JenW!~ said...

I was about 5 at the time of the blizzard. I don't remember just how much snow we got here in Ohio but I do remember that my granpda was out side in his garage and I went outside to get him and had to crawl over a few small hills to get to him. This was after all the snow had stopped of course.

~Beth~ said...

Wow Jenn! I so remember this! I was 16.....oh yea 16! I remember riding to the grocery store on a fire truck to get supplies with my Dad. Now that he is gone it is such a sweet memory for me.

Linda - Behind My Red Door said...

We had the same thing in Feb of 78. Unfortunately is was not cool at all. My hubby drove his elderly secretary home because the buses stopped and because of that, he got stuck on the highway after dropping her off and the National Guard ordered motorists to abandon their cars. He walked 5 m iles in that blizzard to a fire station and they wouldn't give him so much as a warm drink! So he walked another mile to a hospital where he slept in the lobby in wet clothes until the next afternoon when his folks could pick him up. Our street was impassable for 3 days. On Day 3 the National Guard picked me up to bring me to work at the nursing home to relieve the nurses who worked 3 days around the clock. I then worked the same thing. A week later when we were able to find where his car was towed(as were thousands of cars) it had been broken into and he lost a lot of stuff. And there are a lot worse stories too. I pray it never happens again. I wish I had pics to share!!

Backwoodsprim said...

I believe that was the year we lived in ILL.
We had a great snow,of course I was
about 8 or 9 then so I thought it was great!
I can remember them clearing the streets and the snow pile by our home was as high as the gutter along the eave of the house!
It was big time fun to climb and stand on top!!

Backwoodsprim

Anonymous said...

Wow! I was 22, living in Lewiston NY ( a small town north of Niagara Falls). The infamous Lewiston Hill (to Lewiston) was covered with abandoned cars. My mother's was one of them. It took several days for her to get it back. At home we had heat & electric, but food was running out. I live in the south now and never want to see that much snow again.

Unknown said...

I was 10 when this storm hit Welland, and I remember missing school for a week. The snow pilled from our driveway was as high as the neighbors 12' garage roof. We have pictures of us stepping onto the roof and playing. The sidewalks where like hallways because of the massive snow banks. My dad kept the Welland Tribune edition, which I still look at from time to time, for the storm and there are pictures of houses burried under snow drifts and school buses burried up to their roofs. I've never seen anything like it since and I don't think I ever will.

Larry L.

Unknown said...

I was 10 when this storm hit Welland, and I remember missing school for a week. The snow pilled from our driveway was as high as the neighbors 12' garage roof. We have pictures of us stepping onto the roof and playing. The sidewalks where like hallways because of the massive snow banks. My dad kept the Welland Tribune edition, which I still look at from time to time, for the storm and there are pictures of houses burried under snow drifts and school buses burried up to their roofs. I've never seen anything like it since and I don't think I ever will.

Zendano said...

That is my Uncle Danny ( Zendano) shoveling his car out of he snow.
May he rest in peace. He passed away a few years ago.
Great pictures

Yankee Ridge Primitives said...

That is AWESOME Dino!!! He looked a little traumatized. This picture is a classic, it turns up in every search - hes famous:)