Blizzard of 77 essays

Blizzard of 77 essays While many other cities have blinding storms and teeth chattering cold- some even get more snow-Buffalo has been stuck for more than two decades for being the nations snow capitol. The Blizzard of 77 ripped through Western New York and southern Ontario, and left a path of destruction much like one that a tornado or hurricane would leave. People were killed, people were stranded, the National Guard was called, but for those who survived it; it was one of the most exciting times of their lives. My family had been living in Buffalo for decades, stemming back from my great-great grandmother. In 1975 my dad moved my mother and my 5 brothers and sisters to Crane Ridge, a small area about 20 minutes outside of Buffalo in the middle of ski country and right across the highway from the areas biggest ski resort. The house sat back in a wooded area as did the rest of the neighborhood and the terrain was hilly. They were not strangers to harsh winters in fact they welcomed them with open arms. It gave the kids something to do, and my parents a chance to ride around on their snowmobile; house to house. Little did they know that the whole area of New York was in for a big surprise. In 1976, Buffalo was recording record lows. The temperature for the month of October was the lowest it had been in 50 years and November wasnt good either. In addition to the extreme cold, snowfall in November totaled 31.3 inches, in December 60.7. Even though Buffalo is used to having cold weather, this was something no one was ready for. Because of this unusually cold Weather Lake Erie began to freeze over very early, and by mid December the surface of the lake was completely covered with a layer of ice. What this meant is that from that moment on, every bit of snow that fell on the surface stayed there and did not evaporate or melt. Because of the cold, the snow stayed light and fluffy, and was given no chance to thaw out. On top of all this blis...