comment: >
  
  I feel very lucky central Minnesota didnt get completely blizzarded as they made it seem. -30 wind chills isnt fun but at least the bad roads didnt last tooo long.
context: as always Buffalo, we in Toronto appreciate your sacrifice to the lake effect gods. stay safe and merry christmas. >
  
  It is pretty crazy that even St. Catherines doesn’t get nearly the snow Buffalo does and it is only 30 miles away. That lake effect is no joke! >
  
  It’s crazy that different parts of Buffalo can have very different levels of snow.
  One neighborhood might get several feet while the neighborhood next door might get a dusting. >
  
  This is how it was when I lived in Ft. Drum, NY. Different lake, but same effect. The base would get a dusting and the town south of us would get 2 feet. People use the term “white out conditions” too loosely. I’ve been in quite a few nor’easters living in New England, but nothing compares to lake effect snow when you can’t even see the front of the hood of your car when you’re in the driver’s seat. You just need to wait it out and hope that it only lasts 20 minutes. >
  
  We’re getting the blizzard up here too. Can’t see more than 6 feet outside for the last 2 days. >
  
  I’ve been all over and have experienced I think every type of weather in the world except that shit right there. I can kind of understand it because I’ve been through so many hurricanes and flash floods and monsoons and stuff and have been in tons of snow but not a blizzard like that. Hard to imagine. >
  
  Hard to shovel too. Snowblower took a shit, been out all day. Almost to the end of my driveway, which will likely take all day tomorrow! Not looking forward to it. Catching my breath for a few here on Reddit before I have to change because I’m soaked in sweat. This has been the worst I’ve seen in my lifetime (42) >
  
  Good luck to you. >
  
  Biggest issue this time are the combination of heavy snow and heavy winds, up to 75mph gusts in some cases. Near zero visibility and widespread power outages in sub freezing weather, along with gigantic snow drifts. >
  
  The winds were no joke. The gusts were so strong, you could feel the whole apartment building shake, and it cracked one of my windows. >
  
  Those winds were making me so nervous.   My house is so old and the creaking and twisting was freaking me out.   My lights kept dimming with each big gust.  I dont know what i would have done if i lost power.. or a window broke out >
  
  Time to put an emergency plan and bug out bag together.
  Edit - some one messaged me and said you can’t bug out in a blizzard. 
  To clarify, you can. 
  You don’t need to wait til your door has 4ft of snow and you lost power.  Think of an extraction plan to a neighbor or local community shelter and have the proper equipment ready for that action.  
  Anecdotally you could pack -
  Snow shoes/gaiters 
  Hand warmers
  Mylar blankets 
  Down jackets, pants, bootys, mittens, sleeping bags
  At least 5 gal jug of water - even better to fill a tub before the storm. 
  Gas stove such as propane or a backpacking liquid fuel stove that are cheap and can easily melt snow or cook food. 
  Radios
  Pre-cook meals that are easy reheat or don’t need reheated at all. 
  Or be prepared to shelter in place with emergency supplies. Not every emergency/bug out plan involves being Jason Bourne.
  You could have plywood or heavy plastic for broken windows. Nails and hammer, screw gun and screws, and a can of expanding foam insulation will go a long way.  Just think practically. >
  
  Hi. I live at the epicenter of this and I don't think you understand what snow combined with 50-70mph sustained winds for 2 days actually ia. There is no extraction. Ask the woman who manually ventilated her child for 2 days so he didn't die, while the whole city knew where she was....We have tons of warming shelters. People couldn't get the 200' from their homes to them. Bugging out in a blizzard has got to be the worst thing you could do. >
  
  Hi. I’m a mountaineer that skis in backcountry.  I know exactly what those situations are like.   2 days isn’t bad compared to some storms on the mountain that could last a week or more where you literally survive in a snow cave.  That’s why I said to shelter in place or relocate to safety before the conditions get bad.  I would never recommend some one to leave their house in those conditions. It’s pretty much a death sentence. 
  What I am saying is, just think ahead a little bit and prepare yourself using common sense contingency plans for the type of situation you are most likely to find yourself in. In reality, you can’t be prepared for every single emergency, you can just shift the odds of survival in your favor.   
  A simple candle paired using convection heat can provide a huge amount of heat in a 10x10 space, etc.   It’s just the simple things that can be life saving.
  Edit - mountains are playgrounds for near death experiences. Take what I say with a grain of salt. >
  
  Yeah, you're a mountaineer. Most adults -- even those who live in frigid environments -- don't have the skills to navigate and survive in a blizzard of this scope. The best advice is still to stay at home and pray the power doesn't go out. >
  
  I get what the snow expert user means. I knew this winter would be bad last year so I got basic winter needs: snow boots with 1” tread, folding snow shovel, gloves, new coat, blankets, med kit, flares, etc. I knew I would be out on the roads in the thick winter so I got ready. I’m not in Buffalo, NY but I understand he means by being prepared with a kit. It’s important to be ahead of the natural disasters. He doesn’t mean wander out into the snow while there is an active blizzard. I’m sure if some of the people could go back in time and prep they would have. >
  
  Right, the people jumping on him when they misread it are ridiculous. 
  I knew the storm was coming, so before the storm I went and filled my fuel tank on my Prius, and set up my inverter ahead of time, and put an extension cord in the car, so if I lost power I could run the cord to my furnace, I filled and prepped my snowblower and put it in a covered place so I'd have easier access to it, and got some extra supplies. 
  In my case I made no preparation to leave, as there's not much short of a tornado or fire that would require evac for me, but if I had to we have radios and a Jeep with snow recovery gear, but after seeing the storm we got, for a short time there was no driving anywhere, the Jeep barely made it out of the yard to the plowed road, I had cleared this area the night before. 
  I know several people who did nothing to prepare, and their snowblowers weren't ready, they couldn't find their shovels to even get out of their houses and clear a path for their cars. The average person made no plans for this. >
  
  The NYS Thruway is also completely closed from Rochester all the way to the NY/PA state line. >
  
  Here in Rochester, nothing but cold temperatures. Almost no snow accumulation. But west of us it's not good. >
  
  Biggest issue in my part of buffalo was the drifts. Anything that the snow could build up on had 4+ feet and it was dense snow. My door and garage had 3-4 feet and it was solid. Bottom of driveway had a foot and it was fluffy. >
  
  Garages at my apartment in Willamsville had almost 6 feet drifted in front of them. I was standing on top of the base level of snow in my parking lot and my feet were at roof level of some of the cars. >
  
  I live in downtown Buffalo, I went snowshoeing down the streets and walked up snowdrifts 7ft high. Even walked over cars at time not realizing I was on them. It'll be a week before we unbury >
  
  It is supposed to be 50 degrees on Friday, can you believe it?? >
  
  Oh the snowmelt floods. >
  
  Waaaaaaaaaay worse than the last snow storm in November.
  In addition to the snow, this was the equivalent of Cat 1 winds bringing full whiteout conditions for 36+ hours.
  It takes a hell of a lot for a storm to become the blizzard of record in Buffalo, and this was it. 
  It could go down as one of the worst non-flood weather events to hit any U.S. city. >
  
  At least until next year, or maybe next month. >
  
  Woot! Climate change breaking records! >
  
  Once in a lifetime!*
  *so far >
  
  My city in Australia has had 2.5 'once in a century' floods in the last decade.
  The most affected suburbs all flipped from safe conservative strongholds to the largest Greens stronghold in the country in the last federal election. >
  
  Brisbane?
  That Green wave on the coast of Queensland was unreal (and fantastic) to see in the land of Joh Bjelke-Peterson. >
  
  Yeah, all the parts along the Brisbane river which flooded twice in the last decade turned Green or very close. >
  
  It’s gonna be 40F there in a few days- are they going to have flooding issues? >
  
  Yes. They are going to have flooding issues. >
  
  Buffalo got hit about a month ago with a similar mega snowstorm, which dropped another four feet plus. >
  
  This is so much worse than what we got a month ago. I've lived in Buffalo my whole life, 35 years, and I've never experienced anything like this before. Over 30,000 people still without power, people stuck in cars since Friday. They can't even start snow removal because of all the cars stuck in the road and I know once they start removing them they will find multiple people dead. 
  I am thankful I didn't lose power and have plenty of supplies. I live on a side street and right now don't even expect to see a plow until Wednesday at the earliest. There is currently 3-4 foot snow drifts in my street so no way to go anywhere. >
  
  You’re saying that there are people trapped in their cars since Friday?? >
  
  Yeah. There's a Blizzard Facebook page to ask for assistance and people are still posting they are stuck in there cars buried under the snow. On top of the snow we were dealing with -20 wind chills, it was impossible to walk more than a few feet anywhere. 
  Even our emergency services got stuck and now most are without gas. They are asking for volunteers with snowmobiles to help go around and rescue people. >
  
  I have a set of tracks for my jeep rubicon and was tempted to head to Buffalo to help out. 
  I was discouraged from doing so by people who told me in no uncertain terms the cops dislike out of towners coming to visit during snowstorms when snow emergency is in effect and I’d likely be arrested. >
  
  Correct. That's why the National Guard exists. Let them do the job they're trained and equipped for, and don't make yourself into their problem by playing hero. >
  
  The post above says they are asking for volunteers with tracked vehicles to help rescue people.  
  The messaging is confusing. >
  
  I haven't seen any EMS posts about throwing their hands up and telling citizens to leave safety and risk themselves in this blizzard. That's truly irresponsible if so. >
  
  I just read Buffalo police official Facebook page asking for people with tracked vehicles that are willing to help to please call them for instructions. >
  
  Maybe tracked means like a Caterpillar. >
  
  I take it back.... dreams of a white christmas are over rated. >
  
  The bright side being I don’t have to host any in-laws this Christmas. >
  
  Is the tradeoff you have to shovel the roof off?
  Not sure thats a win >
  
  No, my roof is sloped. Everyone in my neighborhood has houses that are made for long winters. I don’t know where folks with ground level or snow level exhausts live, or I’d be digging them out. >
  
  My roof is sloped too. Still need to shovel it off after a big snowstorm. It's why they have roof rakes. >
  
  No power for 18 out of 48 hours.I was in the center of the worst of it for two full days. >
  
  My snowblower would absolutely send a con rod into orbit if I even approached that. >
  
  I have a few of the old ariens,craftsman,yard king, etc from the 90s I keep around for spare parts as they're dirt cheap in summer. 
  So i put a 10hp motor on a 24" cut. It's overpowered and cut well it just moved at a literal snails pace because the first foot.of snow is ice. >
  
  Toronto here, we were supposed to get a bunch of snow...guess buffalo wanted it more >
  
  You're welcome to come get it. There's a pile 6 feet high blocking my garage. >
  
  Lake effect is crazy. I live in Rochester, not far away, and we just have a dusting of snow. I can still see the grass >
  
  The funny thing is that the wind was so bad here that I have areas of my backyard and driveway with no snow, and an 8 foot snowdrift next to it. >
  
  Been without power now for 47 hours here 🙃 >
  
  Last report I read was that there was significant damage to several substations that they could not even begin to address because they could not physically reach them. As I understand it they're digging them out now, repairs to follow. >
  
  Press report tonight said an 18ft snowdrift was on one... >
  
  4 dead.  My sincere sympathies to their families.  A death at any time is devastating, but during the Holidays it must be even more so. >
  
  Far far far more than 4 dead
  Today is Day 1 of getting emergancy vehicles and personal to the blizzard area. The police scanner has been non-stop DoA all night.  Unofficial count is over 40, and it's Day 1 >
  
  That’s almost one Scaramoochi deep >
  
  Ah, the old Calcutta Clipper >
  
  It’s still coming down, Isn’t it? >
  
  depends on where you are.  The snow band sat over the city and north for almost 2 days, and shifted south last night. anyone south of buffalo is getting hit now.
  i just dug out of two feet of the stuff, and I'll have to go back out later.