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Blizzard of 1977
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Blizzard of 1977
The blizzard of 1977 hit Western New York, Central New York, Northern New York, and Southern Ontario from January 28 to February 1 of that year. Daily peak wind gusts ranging from 46 to 69 mph (74 to 111 km/h) were recorded by the National Weather Service in Buffalo, with snowfall as high as 100 in (254 cm) recorded in areas, and the high winds blew this into drifts of 30 to 40 ft (9 to 12 m). There were 23 total storm-related deaths in Western New York, with five more in northern New York.
Certain pre-existing weather conditions exacerbated the blizzard's effects. November, December and January average temperatures were severely below normal. Lake Erie froze over by December 14, 1976; when this occurs, lake-effect snow does not occur because the wind cannot pick up moisture from the lake's surface, convert the moisture to snow, and then dump it when the winds reach shore.
Lake Erie was covered by a deep, powdery snow; January's unusually cold conditions limited the usual thawing and refreezing, so the snow on the frozen lake remained powdery. The drifted snow on roadways was difficult to clear because the strong wind packed the snow into a solid state. In addition to the roads becoming impassable, motorists had to deal with vehicles breaking down due to the combination of very cold temperatures, very high winds and blowing snow.
In the hardest-struck areas, snowmobiles became the only viable method of transportation. In Western New York and Southern Ontario's Niagara Peninsula, snow which was accumulated on frozen Lake Erie and snow on the ground at the start of the blizzard provided ample material for the high winds to blow into huge drifts. The combination of bitter cold, high winds, and blowing snow paralyzed areas affected by the storm. Lake Ontario rarely freezes over, which meant northern New York had to deal with considerable lake-effect snow. Coupled with the existing snow cover and wind, this had a similar effect.
Weather conditions during the months leading up to the blizzard contributed to the disastrous storm. A high-amplitude planetary wave pattern set up, which was very persistent from October 1976 through January 1977, and involved a ridge over western North America and a trough over eastern North America. In January 1977, this pattern persisted, with the pressure of the strong ridge over western North America being more than two standard deviations from the mean, while the strong trough centered over eastern North America was more than three standard deviations from the mean.
A strong blocking high developed over the Arctic Ocean during January, and this moved the polar vortex to southern Canada, south of its normal location. Strong northwest flow between the ridge and the trough resulted in a strong northwest flow in between, which ushered Arctic air into the central and eastern United States. The circulation helped cause record cold for the winter over many portions of the eastern United States, with the Ohio Valley averaging more than 8 °F (4 °C) below normal. The severe winter was not limited to the northeastern United States; snow was observed in Miami, Florida, on January 20, and snow mixed with rain occurred in the Bahamas. In contrast, Alaska was exceptionally mild: Anchorage averaged 20.2 °F or 11.2 °C above normal and was in fact 2.5 °F or 1.4 °C warmer for the month than Atlanta half the distance from the equator, whilst it was the warmest January since at least 1937 for the whole state except the North Slope and the Aleutian Islands. The Pacific Northwest, located under the strong ridge, experienced unprecedented drought, with all 29 climatic divisions of Washington, Oregon and Idaho experiencing their driest October to February period on record.
During June through September, the Buffalo National Weather Service (NWS) office recorded 16.05 in (408 mm) of rain, which is wetter than the 1961–1990 average of 14.29 in (363 mm). In western New York the previously described pattern resulted in snowy and cold weather in the months leading up to the blizzard. Buffalo was a city of about 463,000 people with about 1.5 million in the metropolitan area, the second most populated city in New York State.
The first trace of snow of the winter at the Buffalo NWS weather station in Cheektowaga, New York, occurred on October 9, while the first accumulating snow was on October 21. Elsewhere in western New York, lake effect snow was observed in two periods, with up to 4 in (10 cm) on October 17–18 and up to 12 in (30 cm) on October 21–22 (O'Connell 1977). By the last day of October, Lake Erie was 48 °F (9 °C), the coldest it had been on that date.
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Blizzard of 1977 AI simulator
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Blizzard of 1977
The blizzard of 1977 hit Western New York, Central New York, Northern New York, and Southern Ontario from January 28 to February 1 of that year. Daily peak wind gusts ranging from 46 to 69 mph (74 to 111 km/h) were recorded by the National Weather Service in Buffalo, with snowfall as high as 100 in (254 cm) recorded in areas, and the high winds blew this into drifts of 30 to 40 ft (9 to 12 m). There were 23 total storm-related deaths in Western New York, with five more in northern New York.
Certain pre-existing weather conditions exacerbated the blizzard's effects. November, December and January average temperatures were severely below normal. Lake Erie froze over by December 14, 1976; when this occurs, lake-effect snow does not occur because the wind cannot pick up moisture from the lake's surface, convert the moisture to snow, and then dump it when the winds reach shore.
Lake Erie was covered by a deep, powdery snow; January's unusually cold conditions limited the usual thawing and refreezing, so the snow on the frozen lake remained powdery. The drifted snow on roadways was difficult to clear because the strong wind packed the snow into a solid state. In addition to the roads becoming impassable, motorists had to deal with vehicles breaking down due to the combination of very cold temperatures, very high winds and blowing snow.
In the hardest-struck areas, snowmobiles became the only viable method of transportation. In Western New York and Southern Ontario's Niagara Peninsula, snow which was accumulated on frozen Lake Erie and snow on the ground at the start of the blizzard provided ample material for the high winds to blow into huge drifts. The combination of bitter cold, high winds, and blowing snow paralyzed areas affected by the storm. Lake Ontario rarely freezes over, which meant northern New York had to deal with considerable lake-effect snow. Coupled with the existing snow cover and wind, this had a similar effect.
Weather conditions during the months leading up to the blizzard contributed to the disastrous storm. A high-amplitude planetary wave pattern set up, which was very persistent from October 1976 through January 1977, and involved a ridge over western North America and a trough over eastern North America. In January 1977, this pattern persisted, with the pressure of the strong ridge over western North America being more than two standard deviations from the mean, while the strong trough centered over eastern North America was more than three standard deviations from the mean.
A strong blocking high developed over the Arctic Ocean during January, and this moved the polar vortex to southern Canada, south of its normal location. Strong northwest flow between the ridge and the trough resulted in a strong northwest flow in between, which ushered Arctic air into the central and eastern United States. The circulation helped cause record cold for the winter over many portions of the eastern United States, with the Ohio Valley averaging more than 8 °F (4 °C) below normal. The severe winter was not limited to the northeastern United States; snow was observed in Miami, Florida, on January 20, and snow mixed with rain occurred in the Bahamas. In contrast, Alaska was exceptionally mild: Anchorage averaged 20.2 °F or 11.2 °C above normal and was in fact 2.5 °F or 1.4 °C warmer for the month than Atlanta half the distance from the equator, whilst it was the warmest January since at least 1937 for the whole state except the North Slope and the Aleutian Islands. The Pacific Northwest, located under the strong ridge, experienced unprecedented drought, with all 29 climatic divisions of Washington, Oregon and Idaho experiencing their driest October to February period on record.
During June through September, the Buffalo National Weather Service (NWS) office recorded 16.05 in (408 mm) of rain, which is wetter than the 1961–1990 average of 14.29 in (363 mm). In western New York the previously described pattern resulted in snowy and cold weather in the months leading up to the blizzard. Buffalo was a city of about 463,000 people with about 1.5 million in the metropolitan area, the second most populated city in New York State.
The first trace of snow of the winter at the Buffalo NWS weather station in Cheektowaga, New York, occurred on October 9, while the first accumulating snow was on October 21. Elsewhere in western New York, lake effect snow was observed in two periods, with up to 4 in (10 cm) on October 17–18 and up to 12 in (30 cm) on October 21–22 (O'Connell 1977). By the last day of October, Lake Erie was 48 °F (9 °C), the coldest it had been on that date.
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