comment: >
  
  Good luck with the cold wave to American Redditors. I suffered from a heat wave in July.
context: Blizzard of 77
  fun times, snowed in at Grandparents house, middle of nowhere
  mom got car stuck on road, taken in by kind stranger
  dad stuck at the factory >
  
  My entire family never ever stopped talking about that storm. >
  
  I think technically 1983 was worse, but since 77 happened during the work week, its perceived as the "Worst"
  Then maybe 2001, Buffalo got 7 feet. Took them a month to get things cleared properly >
  
  The southern parts of Buffalo got 6 or 7 feet just a couple of weeks ago. This is the second massive storm in less than a month. >
  
  I don't miss visiting my old office there. Can't see people backing out of their driveways because of giant snow piles.
  People walking the streets, because the sidewalks are still covered. >
  
  less cars out there than when we were quarantined
  I figured at least I would see a pizza delivery guy or two >
  
  Does the state have mandatory shelter in place for homeless people during storms like this? >
  
  There was for almost everyone. Anyone local that was driving probably should not have been. Expect citations. >
  
  This is kinda half true. They waited to get everyone to work then called the driving ban. Was bullshit. Considering buffalo was there last pick to place state assets because it’s buffalo. They were more worried about Syracuse Albany and NYC. They blamed white out conditions on why no one could move or help anyone. I think we need to take a deeper look as to why Buffalo endured the same storm as anyone else and why Buffalo could not get the snow out. There were no plows before the storm putting down salt. It felt like all the assets across the state were no where near buffalo. They didn’t seem to care and only blamed civilians for getting stuck and blaming careless decisions on us. All of this seemed to pander to jobs staying open and less assets for buffalo compared to them sending them elsewhere. >
  
  Did quick subtraction and yep - just as I suspected; The Blizzard of ‘77! >
  
  Here in province of Quebec, the blizzard of 71 is legendary!! >
  
  Or the ice storm of 98 >
  
  Former Mainer, Ice storm of '98 was a doozy! >
  
  Buffalo can handle snow, even 6 feet of it.
  Hurricane force winds and frigid temperatures made this storm much more deadly.
  /r/buffalo >
  
  Nova Scotia had a similar storm in 04 (white Juan), I remember how bad it was. The only thing that saved a lot of lives here is the abundance of wood stoves and generators. >
  
  We had some wind-fallen trees earlier this year and redid the fireplace so it was wood burning instead of gas maybe 14 months ago.
  Lived here 15 years and never had a power outage that lasted a whole day. This event? 55 hours. No way to leave for the first 50 hours. We rationed the wood, but it was looking pretty grim by the time the power came back on. We might have been all right another 8-10 hours, but the cats probably would have died.
  We were lucky beyond all reason. I can't imagine the hardship that folks just streets away were dealing with. >
  
  White Juan had power out for 5 days. I didn't get out of my driveway for three. But wood heat is big here, so people's basements are full of firewood. My parents for example have the entire winter's worth of firewood stored inside. 
  We are prepared in Nova Scotia because of our climate and awful power infrastructure, so it's scary to think about those people who are not. Glad to hear you are alright though. >
  
  We lost about 500 people in Texas from a storm you lot would consider Spring weather.  We just aren't prepared to heat our homes without power.  Most of the few houses I've seen with fireplaces aren't even functional.  Everyone stay safe. >
  
  I heard all about that, it's so horrible.
  Preparation is key. Canadian winters are brutal (Alberta can easily get down to -60°f, while Nova Scotia can get between 60 to 160 inches of snow each winter, depending on the region), but we expect that and prepare for it. A Canadian house in Texas would be considered overkill, but it's necessary here. So when places get severe weather for their region it can become deadly. 
  The storm I mentioned earlier, that knocked out power for 5 days, had a temperature of -8°f with zero deaths. But like I said earlier, we need and expect to be prepared. In Nova Scotia over 6 months our temperature can shift from 100°f to -5°f, and that's normal.
  As our weather keeps having wild swings in North America I would recommend everyone do something to prepare, add a wood stove or buy a generator. It literally could save your life. >
  
  Yeah, the 1977 blizzard was nasty. I was in Ontario on the north side of Lake Erie. Will never for get it. >
  
  Sweet! Now those fuckers can't say, "Back in my day" any fucking more!!
  RIP to those who perished, sad state of affairs. >
  
  Oh, well, we can expect that to happen a bit more now. The next century will bring a nice transition Phase of hot, dry summers and blizzards in Winter:)
  Fun,fun,fun >
  
  And just the opposite for winters. We got (kinda) buried here in Peterborough, Ontario. Other parts got absolutely obliterated. And it's only going to get worse.
  You can see pics all over r/ontario and other subs dedicated to affected cities and towns. r/cobourg, r/toronto, r/oakville and theres others. >
  
  I’m moving back to London in 2023. Can’t wait to hear people complain about the snow. They know NOTHING. >
  
  Tell them of this accursed land >
  
  This was the worst thing that could have happened on Christmas.  Cause I had to listen to HOURS of snow storm stories of a by gone era.  We're talking 7 inches in central Alabama kind of dragging convos.  "ain't as bad as 93.  I was in Sheboygan back in 77." >
  
  I feel you! I am always so shocked how older generations have such an acute memory for weather events. I'm 32 and literally couldn't recount a single year that an adverse weather event occured. My parents/grandparents, on the other hand, can go on and on about the specificities of heatwaves, blizzards, floods, windstorms etc etc. and remember exactly when and where they were. >
  
  Brother is currently driving back to Alabama from Central NY. Had to plot out an alternative route. >
  
  Live here in Buffalo, can confirm, this sucks. >
  
  “Shuffling off to Buffalo” does mean something explicit. Grew up in Appalachia, upper elevation north west facing lakes Erie and Huron. When you guys got hammered so did we. My mother would cry at the first snow fall and celebrated the first Robin. 
  Your “it sucks” hits close to home! I’ve lived through it myself more than once. >
  
  My first thought is one of my team mates was supposed to be in buffalo this weekend but thought better of it and stayed in Syracuse. I see it was a wise choice. >
  
  I tried driving nearby on Saturday while going home for Xmas. It took about 2 hours to find a way out. At one point the road was completely gone and covered with a 6 ft snow drift, and the person in front of me had gone in the ditch. Luckily a cop came and rescued them and led me out.
  My 9 hour road trip to Michigan ended up taking 16 hours. >
  
  Yeah, my neighbors drove from Atlanta to Chicago on Friday, starting at 4am, and it took them 18.5 hours (Google maps predicted 10hrs).  They were driving through Indiana while the wind chill there was -26°F. >
  
  Chicago also had a Blizzard of ‘77, as well as ‘78.  We were snowed in -completely.  Opened the front door to a snow drift and 6’ high snow banks.  Kids loved it, grownups found a valid reason for day drinking and listening to Molly Hatchet. >
  
  That's the one where everyone just left their cars in the middle of the roads all over Chicago and the suburbs.  We had just moved east from Chicago a year before. >
  
  Just wait till next year 😂 >
  
  Yeah I've seen a ridiculous amount of "once in a lifetime" storms, probably should call them "the worst, for now" storms. >
  
  So I’m gonna be a little nerdy about this, but the point you’re raising is a really interesting one when defining disasters! You may have heard the term “100 year flood” and wondered what that means. The answer is that what it means really depends on how you define the area you’re evaluating!
  Generally, the more specific of a geographic area you look at, the higher the “return period” (e.g. 100 years, 150 years, 10 years, etc.).
  Consider this blizzard. It may be a 1 in 50 year event for Buffalo, but a 1 in 30 year event for New York state, or a 1 in 10 year event for the U.S. (I’m picking arbitrary numbers here). That’s because the more area you include, the more places there are for these events to happen over time. So when someone says “this is a 1 in 100 year event”, you really have to ask: “1 in 100 year event for what geographic scope?”. >
  
  Also the odds don’t mean once every hundred years they mean in any year there’s about a 1% chance >
  
  Where I grew up there was an area people called a hundred year flood plain.
  That I saw underwater at least 3 times >
  
  My favorite is this quote “the odds of a baseball hitting a bird are 1 in a billion but I’ve seen it 4 times” haha >
  
  I still remember the one around 09-10 that a freeze was so bad. I didn’t go to school for almost a week. >
  
  that was bad! I don't recall seeing very many cars after taking a walk around the neighborhood. >
  
  I live there, it’s fun the snow is up to the top of my chest and I’m 5’8 >
  
  The city announced during the worst of it that there were to emergency services available in the entire city and the surrounding suburbs. Residents organized extensive rescue efforts on their own. The city is now responding to a backlog of 911 calls days old. >
  
  I think climate change has something to say about these, "once in a lifetime weather events" we're having these days, i have a strong suspicion we'll see these storms again before too long >
  
  I'm sometimes glad I moved to Florida, but we have some banging hurricanes here.  No place is weather safe.  I wish New Yorkers dealing with this storm the best. >
  
  Good luck with the cold wave to American Redditors. I suffered from a heat wave in July. >
  
  I wasn’t alive in 1977, so I don’t know how this blizzard compares to The Blizzard, but this one was the worst I’ve ever seen.  I go to college in a place that hasn’t gotten any snow this year, so I was hoping that I would see some snow when I came home.  I guess I should’ve been careful what I wished for…
  On a lighter note, people were really out and about today (at least in the city).  It really felt like a community event; the few bars that were open looked like the Shire after the defeat of Sauron.  It made me happy to live in this city, despite its absolutely ridiculous weather. >
  
  It does annoy me how they keep harping on people getting stuck.
  It’s really not like they make it particularly clear where the roads are closed and open. Go on any GPS app and it will say the road is fine.
  Government really needs to do a better job at integrating road closures with navigation apps. Even on the highway, NYS got rid of toll booths so it’s not like they can actually close the highway.
  It’s also not like we know what the people were doing who got stuck. For all we know they were utility workers, emergency workers, etc that got stuck. I’m >
  
  
  Government really needs to do a better job at integrating road closures with navigation apps.
  
  It's not ideal, but there is the emergency weather channel that is used to warn of weather conditions. Maybe they can dump some of that information there. >
  
  It’s kind of crazy how we’re having once in a century weather events (heat wave, snow storm, hurricane, etc) every year now. Gee I wonder what it could be that’s causing this >
  
  You’d think more people would care about climate change. >
  
  They would have to believe it was real first. >
  
  Well this is twice in my lifetime >
  
  Who wants to bet this starts to happen every year? We’re fucked.. >
  
  Feels like it's definitely getting worse. 
  We've had a "once in a decade" lake effect snowstorm and a "once in a century" blizzard in the past 30ish days or so. 
  I need to invest in a bigger snowblower than my current 32" one. Maybe take a more serious look at the pickup truck I've been pondering. >
  
  It’s basically Canada. >
  
  Cept they don't even have All-Dressed chips in that shithole. >
  
  We 100% have All-Dresses chips. Wegman's and Topps has them. >
  
  No. The American version ruffles sells is a cheap knock off. Not nearly enough seasoning on them. >
  
  Sure it was bad but right across the boarder in Canada it was worse. >
  
  These temperatures in Buffalo and the rest of NY is super warm for any Albertan. But once again, Americans aren't used to the use weather conditions so it's much worse for them. Us Canadians would also suffer as badly in any summer weather in Florida or California >
  
  Temperature isn't what made it bad >
  
  Yea I'm aware. The wind make it especially worse >
  
  Meanwhile in Canada no one gives a shit. >
  
  Texas would be destroyed if this storm hit them. Sustained 70MPh category 1 hurricane winds, 5 feet of snow, temps that feel like 30 below. >
  
  Global warming in shambles >
  
  This is why we stopped using that term like a decade ago. It's climate change because we now know that it goes both ways, amplifying natural disasters >
  
  Really it's much smarter to say climate change because that way you are right whether things warm up or cool down. >
  
  I experienced this as well while playing Max Payne in 2001 >
  
  I'm right in the middle of it. Luckily, my power has stayed on and my street eventually plowed. We're still waiting for the driving ban to be lifted and the stores to reopen. My family didn't live in Buffalo during their legendary Blizzard of 77 (I wasn't born yet.) This is really just as bad as the October 2006 storm. That heavy snowstorm came before the leaves had fallen off the trees, so the heavy snow accumulated on the branches causing them to fall off and destroy the power lines.
  If we live in Western NY, this weather goes with the territory, but this was an exceptional disaster. Honestly, decades from now, I plan to move someplace warmer, but I'm staying in Buffalo for my family. >
  
  Read where 30 people have died since snowzilla started. Wonder how many people were actually prepared in any way, shape or form? and remember how those in Texas lost power during winter a few years ago? Wonder if anyone there learned anything? >
  
  Many got trapped in cars. Roads got so bad that emergency services couldn’t even get out. After hours of being trapped people ran out of gas and froze, or the snow blocked exhaust and people died of CO2 poisoning. Other people have been without power since early Friday and temps have been single digits. You can prepare, but people were physically trapped with no escape to safety. My brother had the drifts block all of his doorways. He had to remove the top glass, let snow fall into his house then basically tunnel out. He’s young and physically capable. A lot aren’t. >
  
  People had days in advance of warning but still moronically chose to drive out during a travel ban. >
  
  So essential workers are idiots? And the people searching for warmth after they lost power in basically zero temps? Yes, some people ignored the warnings, but some people had no choice. >
  
  More people ignored the warnings than essential workers with no choice. I'd bet my life on it.
  Keep downvoting, people who don't live here! >
  
  A small part of me will miss seeing your ignorance.
  Real small >
  
  Weirdo stalker. >
  
  lol? If you want less replies stop spamming the subreddit with nonsense
  Definitely lol @ blaming the subreddit for hating your nonsense >
  
  This one will be counted as worse. >
  
  Gotta hate that global warming. >
  
  Lets blame the governor like we do in Texas. I wonder where the NY senators are and what they are doing about weather. >
  
  Last I checked, the days before, during and after this storm, the governor was marshaling all resources available.
  The real source of outrage should be the beloved football team flying home from Chicago to Rochester in the middle of the storm, boarding buses and traveling on the closed interstate highway during a state travel ban with police escort to the closed Buffalo airport where volunteers and staff helped dig out their cars so they could drive to their homes again during a travel ban. All while people died in their cars. >
  
  Didn’t they know this was coming? Did they not prep for it? It still boggles my mind that cities can get “paralyzed” by snow. >
  
  Are you from somewhere that gets snow? >
  
  Yup. A lot of snow. >
  
  And you don't understand how a place can be overwhelmed with snow, especially a place that gets 6 feet at a time ? >
  
  Lol. We get A LOT of snow and never shit down >
  
  But you can't differentiate between "a lot of snow" and "the worst blizzard in 45 years" . >
  
  Good thing global warming is coming still >
  
  If not for industrialization, we would all be living in perfect 72 degree weather year-round. >
  
  I would gladly take what we’ve lost than face what’s in store for us! I’m 69 and we’re loosing big time! >
  
  Well deserved, to the people who emit more co2 per capita than anywhere else on the planet. >
  
  Are....are you implying that the city of Buffalo alone emits more co2 than anywhere else on the planet? 🤣 >
  
  Wow......55 THUMBS DOWN? Thank you ever so much as this tells me there's A LOT of sheep anxious to suck the government tit instead of relying on themselves. >
  
  You sure dependent was the word you were looking for? >
  
  So damn glad I don't live there anymore. >
  
  Blizzard of 77
  fun times, snowed in at Grandparents house, middle of nowhere
  mom got car stuck on road, taken in by kind stranger
  dad stuck at the factory >
  
  My entire family never ever stopped talking about that storm. >
  
  I think technically 1983 was worse, but since 77 happened during the work week, its perceived as the "Worst"
  Then maybe 2001, Buffalo got 7 feet. Took them a month to get things cleared properly >
  
  The southern parts of Buffalo got 6 or 7 feet just a couple of weeks ago. This is the second massive storm in less than a month. >
  
  I don't miss visiting my old office there. Can't see people backing out of their driveways because of giant snow piles.
  People walking the streets, because the sidewalks are still covered. >
  
  less cars out there than when we were quarantined
  I figured at least I would see a pizza delivery guy or two >
  
  Does the state have mandatory shelter in place for homeless people during storms like this? >
  
  There was for almost everyone. Anyone local that was driving probably should not have been. Expect citations. >
  
  This is kinda half true. They waited to get everyone to work then called the driving ban. Was bullshit. Considering buffalo was there last pick to place state assets because it’s buffalo. They were more worried about Syracuse Albany and NYC. They blamed white out conditions on why no one could move or help anyone. I think we need to take a deeper look as to why Buffalo endured the same storm as anyone else and why Buffalo could not get the snow out. There were no plows before the storm putting down salt. It felt like all the assets across the state were no where near buffalo. They didn’t seem to care and only blamed civilians for getting stuck and blaming careless decisions on us. All of this seemed to pander to jobs staying open and less assets for buffalo compared to them sending them elsewhere. >
  
  Did quick subtraction and yep - just as I suspected; The Blizzard of ‘77! >
  
  Here in province of Quebec, the blizzard of 71 is legendary!! >
  
  Or the ice storm of 98 >
  
  Former Mainer, Ice storm of '98 was a doozy! >
  
  Buffalo can handle snow, even 6 feet of it.
  Hurricane force winds and frigid temperatures made this storm much more deadly.
  /r/buffalo >
  
  Nova Scotia had a similar storm in 04 (white Juan), I remember how bad it was. The only thing that saved a lot of lives here is the abundance of wood stoves and generators. >
  
  We had some wind-fallen trees earlier this year and redid the fireplace so it was wood burning instead of gas maybe 14 months ago.
  Lived here 15 years and never had a power outage that lasted a whole day. This event? 55 hours. No way to leave for the first 50 hours. We rationed the wood, but it was looking pretty grim by the time the power came back on. We might have been all right another 8-10 hours, but the cats probably would have died.
  We were lucky beyond all reason. I can't imagine the hardship that folks just streets away were dealing with. >
  
  White Juan had power out for 5 days. I didn't get out of my driveway for three. But wood heat is big here, so people's basements are full of firewood. My parents for example have the entire winter's worth of firewood stored inside. 
  We are prepared in Nova Scotia because of our climate and awful power infrastructure, so it's scary to think about those people who are not. Glad to hear you are alright though. >
  
  We lost about 500 people in Texas from a storm you lot would consider Spring weather.  We just aren't prepared to heat our homes without power.  Most of the few houses I've seen with fireplaces aren't even functional.  Everyone stay safe. >
  
  I heard all about that, it's so horrible.
  Preparation is key. Canadian winters are brutal (Alberta can easily get down to -60°f, while Nova Scotia can get between 60 to 160 inches of snow each winter, depending on the region), but we expect that and prepare for it. A Canadian house in Texas would be considered overkill, but it's necessary here. So when places get severe weather for their region it can become deadly. 
  The storm I mentioned earlier, that knocked out power for 5 days, had a temperature of -8°f with zero deaths. But like I said earlier, we need and expect to be prepared. In Nova Scotia over 6 months our temperature can shift from 100°f to -5°f, and that's normal.
  As our weather keeps having wild swings in North America I would recommend everyone do something to prepare, add a wood stove or buy a generator. It literally could save your life. >
  
  Yeah, the 1977 blizzard was nasty. I was in Ontario on the north side of Lake Erie. Will never for get it. >
  
  Sweet! Now those fuckers can't say, "Back in my day" any fucking more!!
  RIP to those who perished, sad state of affairs. >
  
  Oh, well, we can expect that to happen a bit more now. The next century will bring a nice transition Phase of hot, dry summers and blizzards in Winter:)
  Fun,fun,fun >
  
  And just the opposite for winters. We got (kinda) buried here in Peterborough, Ontario. Other parts got absolutely obliterated. And it's only going to get worse.
  You can see pics all over r/ontario and other subs dedicated to affected cities and towns. r/cobourg, r/toronto, r/oakville and theres others. >
  
  I’m moving back to London in 2023. Can’t wait to hear people complain about the snow. They know NOTHING. >
  
  Tell them of this accursed land >
  
  This was the worst thing that could have happened on Christmas.  Cause I had to listen to HOURS of snow storm stories of a by gone era.  We're talking 7 inches in central Alabama kind of dragging convos.  "ain't as bad as 93.  I was in Sheboygan back in 77." >
  
  I feel you! I am always so shocked how older generations have such an acute memory for weather events. I'm 32 and literally couldn't recount a single year that an adverse weather event occured. My parents/grandparents, on the other hand, can go on and on about the specificities of heatwaves, blizzards, floods, windstorms etc etc. and remember exactly when and where they were. >
  
  Brother is currently driving back to Alabama from Central NY. Had to plot out an alternative route. >
  
  Live here in Buffalo, can confirm, this sucks. >
  
  “Shuffling off to Buffalo” does mean something explicit. Grew up in Appalachia, upper elevation north west facing lakes Erie and Huron. When you guys got hammered so did we. My mother would cry at the first snow fall and celebrated the first Robin. 
  Your “it sucks” hits close to home! I’ve lived through it myself more than once. >
  
  My first thought is one of my team mates was supposed to be in buffalo this weekend but thought better of it and stayed in Syracuse. I see it was a wise choice. >
  
  I tried driving nearby on Saturday while going home for Xmas. It took about 2 hours to find a way out. At one point the road was completely gone and covered with a 6 ft snow drift, and the person in front of me had gone in the ditch. Luckily a cop came and rescued them and led me out.
  My 9 hour road trip to Michigan ended up taking 16 hours. >
  
  Yeah, my neighbors drove from Atlanta to Chicago on Friday, starting at 4am, and it took them 18.5 hours (Google maps predicted 10hrs).  They were driving through Indiana while the wind chill there was -26°F. >
  
  Chicago also had a Blizzard of ‘77, as well as ‘78.  We were snowed in -completely.  Opened the front door to a snow drift and 6’ high snow banks.  Kids loved it, grownups found a valid reason for day drinking and listening to Molly Hatchet. >
  
  That's the one where everyone just left their cars in the middle of the roads all over Chicago and the suburbs.  We had just moved east from Chicago a year before. >
  
  Just wait till next year 😂 >
  
  Yeah I've seen a ridiculous amount of "once in a lifetime" storms, probably should call them "the worst, for now" storms. >
  
  So I’m gonna be a little nerdy about this, but the point you’re raising is a really interesting one when defining disasters! You may have heard the term “100 year flood” and wondered what that means. The answer is that what it means really depends on how you define the area you’re evaluating!
  Generally, the more specific of a geographic area you look at, the higher the “return period” (e.g. 100 years, 150 years, 10 years, etc.).
  Consider this blizzard. It may be a 1 in 50 year event for Buffalo, but a 1 in 30 year event for New York state, or a 1 in 10 year event for the U.S. (I’m picking arbitrary numbers here). That’s because the more area you include, the more places there are for these events to happen over time. So when someone says “this is a 1 in 100 year event”, you really have to ask: “1 in 100 year event for what geographic scope?”. >
  
  Also the odds don’t mean once every hundred years they mean in any year there’s about a 1% chance >
  
  Where I grew up there was an area people called a hundred year flood plain.
  That I saw underwater at least 3 times >
  
  My favorite is this quote “the odds of a baseball hitting a bird are 1 in a billion but I’ve seen it 4 times” haha >
  
  I still remember the one around 09-10 that a freeze was so bad. I didn’t go to school for almost a week. >
  
  that was bad! I don't recall seeing very many cars after taking a walk around the neighborhood. >
  
  I live there, it’s fun the snow is up to the top of my chest and I’m 5’8 >
  
  The city announced during the worst of it that there were to emergency services available in the entire city and the surrounding suburbs. Residents organized extensive rescue efforts on their own. The city is now responding to a backlog of 911 calls days old. >
  
  I think climate change has something to say about these, "once in a lifetime weather events" we're having these days, i have a strong suspicion we'll see these storms again before too long >
  
  I'm sometimes glad I moved to Florida, but we have some banging hurricanes here.  No place is weather safe.  I wish New Yorkers dealing with this storm the best.