I voted that it wasn't unusual....
but I still think that it was a strong storm.
Looking back on some pictures that I have from last December, right around the 18th we had an even BIGGER snow. I even lost my mailbox to a plow in that one.
Having experienced the 'Blizzard of '77', and the glimmer of a memory of the 'Blizzard of '66', I can't say it was nearly as intense as that, but I would rank it up in my 'top 10' of winter storm experiences.
Maybe it wouldn't garner that ranking from me if I wasn't stuck for two hours trying to get home from a normally 20 minute trek.
One of the worst. I've been commuting to Rochester for over 10 years and it has NEVER taken me almost 3 hours to get home. There were at least 15 cars off the road on Rt. 33 between Bergen and Batavia. Very scary ride home.
This was really bad. Same here Beth. It took me just about three hours to get home yesterday and I was on the Thruway! I also saw three really bad accidents as well! Crazy Day! I'm glad everyone is safe though.
I know we all like to pooh-pooh bad weather, but if we're honest with ourselves, yesterday was a bad one. If the wind had picked up we'd have been in the middle of a bona fide blizzard.
Or maybe I'm just grumpy because I spent an hour shoveling my driveway last night without gloves.
...Doesn't approach the intensity, damage or duration of the Blizzard of '77. There are a couple ice storms that also outrank yesterday's storm. I look out the window and see the remains: less than a foot of snow. I think anyone who lacks appreciation of past winters, the snow accumulations in the 50s and 60s, also lacks the credentials to rank top ten storms. Seeing my Dad shovel a driveway in waste-high snow was not so unusual.
The Blizzard of '77 had western New York tied up for three days. The snowdrift on Rt 237 at the Morganville bend rivalled the telephone poles. When plowed out, the single lane, serpentine path was reminicent of a huge gorge- people had to tunnel into its walls to find their houses. A jack-knifed trailer at Rt 33 and Griswold Rd., shut down traffic in both directions and stranded hundreds of motorists. Blowing snow collapsed a garage door in Alabama. The eeriest call on the scanner involved a county plow truck sent to locate another plow truck stranded in a white out. As they radioed back and forth, trying to make contact; they realised that they were twenty feet apart and couldn't see each other.
C.M,
I think all things are relative to our own experiences. The younger folks really have little or no recollection of the storms in the 50s, 60s, and early 70s. So, for them, this IS the worst - or ranks right up there.
My youngest son can't comprehend the snow drifts that my older children remember growing up in the 60s & 70s. They remember the snow tunnels and sitting on snow banks that almost reached the telephone wires.
For those of us who remember the snow and ice storms, yesterday's storm was nasty but not as bad as some we lived through.
Chris, what a story you have to tell your grandchildren. "I had to shovel with no gloves!". Almost as good as my father telling us how he had to walk MILES to his one room school house and he shared a pair of mittens with the kid across the road. We learned, much later, that the one room room schoolhouse was located at the next intersection from their farm house, a distance of about a quarter of a mile.
His only answer was, "Well, it seemed far when you a kid.".
Oh yes, the Blizzard of '77. Everyone at school had to spend the night there (if you didn't have relatives or friends with snowmobiles to take you home.) Roads closed everywhere ~~ it was wild seeing JUST snowmobiles screaming up & down everywhere. People didn't have 3 or 4 wheelers back then either. And no CELL phones! My Uncle was a snowplow driver & thankfully he escorted my two brothers & I home. Oh how my mother was so glad to see us walk in the house!! I too, remember the snowbanks almost to the telephone wires. Yesterday's storm (to me) didn't quite seem AS bad as that one of 1977.
77 was the 'perfect storm'. My parents were stranded with an aunt and uncle in Batavia and the school administration decided to dismiss any seniors that had a place to go in the village. Drinking age was 18 and Mini-Quik (little neighborhood store that specialized in the sale of beer) stayed open. Many of my classmates (those that lived in Stafford and Morganville) came to my house and we sent the brave out for several beer runs. We had an all night euchre tournament and drank lots and lots of beer.
As a 7 year old in '66 I remember the snow being over my head and up to the wires in the country.
Who did you hang with from Morganville? That's where i lived. I've been trying to figure out who you are and know we've crossed paths. I was a junior in 1977 and spent the night at school.
Fred Krywy, Bob Slaven and Ralph Worthington. If I remember correctly (after 31 years and all that beer) all of them were at my house during the blizzard. Was Mark Hunnyman from Morganville, too? I just saw him a few weeks ago at a friends 50th.
Amen Bea. This "storm" (eye roll) wasn't really anything more than an inconvenience. All anyone had to do is to stay put, and wait for the plows to clear the way. It really only had things slowed down for about 12 hours.
I got home from work Thursday about 4pm, parked the truck, put venison stew into the slow cooker, brought in a load of firewood for the night and prepared to go to bed early. My plan was to go to sleep at 7pm and get up at 3:30pam to run the snowblower and go to work.
About 7pm a knock on the door brought me a visitor who had driven off the road in whiteout conditions. He was on his way to Wyoming from Batavia. He had no hat, no gloves and was wearing a light jacket and jeans. He had no cell phone and no AAA.
I sat him next to the wood stove and handed him a beer. About 10:30 someone finally made it out to pick him up and bring him home. I managed to get into bed by 11pm, got up at 3:30am, ran the blower and made it to work in Henrietta by 6:30am without any problems.
On another note, I'm tired of the Bethany plows taking out my mailbox every year!
I voted that it wasn't
I voted that it wasn't unusual....
but I still think that it was a strong storm.
Looking back on some pictures that I have from last December, right around the 18th we had an even BIGGER snow. I even lost my mailbox to a plow in that one.
Having experienced the
Having experienced the 'Blizzard of '77', and the glimmer of a memory of the 'Blizzard of '66', I can't say it was nearly as intense as that, but I would rank it up in my 'top 10' of winter storm experiences.
Maybe it wouldn't garner that ranking from me if I wasn't stuck for two hours trying to get home from a normally 20 minute trek.
This storm was one of worst
This storm was one of worst I've ever had to drive in. Visibility was horrible. Nice to see the sun out. Watch around those snow piles!
One of the worst. I've been
One of the worst. I've been commuting to Rochester for over 10 years and it has NEVER taken me almost 3 hours to get home. There were at least 15 cars off the road on Rt. 33 between Bergen and Batavia. Very scary ride home.
This was really bad. Same
This was really bad. Same here Beth. It took me just about three hours to get home yesterday and I was on the Thruway! I also saw three really bad accidents as well! Crazy Day! I'm glad everyone is safe though.
I know we all like to
I know we all like to pooh-pooh bad weather, but if we're honest with ourselves, yesterday was a bad one. If the wind had picked up we'd have been in the middle of a bona fide blizzard.
Or maybe I'm just grumpy because I spent an hour shoveling my driveway last night without gloves.
If it had just been snow, it
If it had just been snow, it would have been bad enough. But, with the wind, I rate it as one of our worst.
...Doesn't approach the
...Doesn't approach the intensity, damage or duration of the Blizzard of '77. There are a couple ice storms that also outrank yesterday's storm. I look out the window and see the remains: less than a foot of snow. I think anyone who lacks appreciation of past winters, the snow accumulations in the 50s and 60s, also lacks the credentials to rank top ten storms. Seeing my Dad shovel a driveway in waste-high snow was not so unusual.
The Blizzard of '77 had western New York tied up for three days. The snowdrift on Rt 237 at the Morganville bend rivalled the telephone poles. When plowed out, the single lane, serpentine path was reminicent of a huge gorge- people had to tunnel into its walls to find their houses. A jack-knifed trailer at Rt 33 and Griswold Rd., shut down traffic in both directions and stranded hundreds of motorists. Blowing snow collapsed a garage door in Alabama. The eeriest call on the scanner involved a county plow truck sent to locate another plow truck stranded in a white out. As they radioed back and forth, trying to make contact; they realised that they were twenty feet apart and couldn't see each other.
C.M, I think all things are
C.M,
I think all things are relative to our own experiences. The younger folks really have little or no recollection of the storms in the 50s, 60s, and early 70s. So, for them, this IS the worst - or ranks right up there.
My youngest son can't comprehend the snow drifts that my older children remember growing up in the 60s & 70s. They remember the snow tunnels and sitting on snow banks that almost reached the telephone wires.
For those of us who remember the snow and ice storms, yesterday's storm was nasty but not as bad as some we lived through.
Chris, what a story you have to tell your grandchildren. "I had to shovel with no gloves!". Almost as good as my father telling us how he had to walk MILES to his one room school house and he shared a pair of mittens with the kid across the road. We learned, much later, that the one room room schoolhouse was located at the next intersection from their farm house, a distance of about a quarter of a mile.
His only answer was, "Well, it seemed far when you a kid.".
Oh yes, the Blizzard of '77.
Oh yes, the Blizzard of '77. Everyone at school had to spend the night there (if you didn't have relatives or friends with snowmobiles to take you home.) Roads closed everywhere ~~ it was wild seeing JUST snowmobiles screaming up & down everywhere. People didn't have 3 or 4 wheelers back then either. And no CELL phones! My Uncle was a snowplow driver & thankfully he escorted my two brothers & I home. Oh how my mother was so glad to see us walk in the house!! I too, remember the snowbanks almost to the telephone wires. Yesterday's storm (to me) didn't quite seem AS bad as that one of 1977.
77 was the 'perfect storm'.
77 was the 'perfect storm'. My parents were stranded with an aunt and uncle in Batavia and the school administration decided to dismiss any seniors that had a place to go in the village. Drinking age was 18 and Mini-Quik (little neighborhood store that specialized in the sale of beer) stayed open. Many of my classmates (those that lived in Stafford and Morganville) came to my house and we sent the brave out for several beer runs. We had an all night euchre tournament and drank lots and lots of beer.
As a 7 year old in '66 I remember the snow being over my head and up to the wires in the country.
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Thanks for posting that,
Thanks for posting that, Lorie. Fascinating.
Another cool local blizzard
Another cool local blizzard link for your reading pleasure --
http://www.co.genesee.ny.us/dpt/historian/blizzard.html
Who did you hang with from
Who did you hang with from Morganville? That's where i lived. I've been trying to figure out who you are and know we've crossed paths. I was a junior in 1977 and spent the night at school.
Fred Krywy, Bob Slaven and
Fred Krywy, Bob Slaven and Ralph Worthington. If I remember correctly (after 31 years and all that beer) all of them were at my house during the blizzard. Was Mark Hunnyman from Morganville, too? I just saw him a few weeks ago at a friends 50th.
I was a Fee pre-marriage.
Amen Bea. This "storm" (eye
Amen Bea. This "storm" (eye roll) wasn't really anything more than an inconvenience. All anyone had to do is to stay put, and wait for the plows to clear the way. It really only had things slowed down for about 12 hours.
I got home from work Thursday about 4pm, parked the truck, put venison stew into the slow cooker, brought in a load of firewood for the night and prepared to go to bed early. My plan was to go to sleep at 7pm and get up at 3:30pam to run the snowblower and go to work.
About 7pm a knock on the door brought me a visitor who had driven off the road in whiteout conditions. He was on his way to Wyoming from Batavia. He had no hat, no gloves and was wearing a light jacket and jeans. He had no cell phone and no AAA.
I sat him next to the wood stove and handed him a beer. About 10:30 someone finally made it out to pick him up and bring him home. I managed to get into bed by 11pm, got up at 3:30am, ran the blower and made it to work in Henrietta by 6:30am without any problems.
On another note, I'm tired of the Bethany plows taking out my mailbox every year!
ah ok...let's go offline,
ah ok...let's go offline, jerrybuckman@comcast.net
Here's a video on the
Here's a video on the Blizzard of '77
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-gRb_MuUgg]
Found it on whitedeath.com, the site for a book by Erno Rossi on the blizzard -- he sent me the link.
Neat video, I remember it
Neat video, I remember it well. Thanks Howard.