# Pictures From Buffalo Ny



## PetalsandPines

I will try to post pictures of this monster snow storm, where I estimate we got about 35 Inches of Snow overnight & it keeps snowing! There are cars strewn everywhere, I am stuck at my own house) Boys from amherst & clarence ... Be careful..it's probably the worst storm in the history of Buffalo! (South Buffalo That Is!)


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## PetalsandPines

*pics*

PIX


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## PetalsandPines

*pics*

pics


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## slplow

COOL!!! Lord send us some snow soon amen.


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## ceaman

if anyone needs a sub.... Im available.... let me know.... it looks like you might need all the help you can get.....


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## AtlasFBG2

Said on cnn you guys might be geting up to 38 more inches on top of the 30 you already got before its all over.Wow 68 inches ill gas up the truck and head on over.


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## plowjockey

Dump truck for hire. Well that would be if I didn't have responsibilities here to my customers. They have to always come first as you all know.

Bruce


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## Hidles

What is that meyer doing BURIED undernearth the drift??? what will your customers say, do? not very professional, this is one reason why i STRESS leave the plowing to the professionals.If you are any kind of a contractor , you would have had access to a loader or ho, AND STAY ON THE SITE, at least one, the largest you have ,were comin up with a loader, i'll make 3-4000.00 in a few days .... look 4 a 988 on the streets around midnite .


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## wxmn6

PetalsandPines,

I think you have more than enough snow to play with for now. Please send some snow here because I sure could use some of these!


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## wxmn6

Hidles, I think that Meyer snowplow is buried from the snow blown from snowblower after the truck was parked. 

PetalsandPines, would you look at the pile that you made? I think you definely will need a loader because probably at the end of season your driveway will be full of piles with no place to put your truck? LOL


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## PetalsandPines

Hey hidles...I can bury that Meyer..it's my yard As soon as...I'll look for that 988...However You might want to nickname it BIGFOOT and do some car crushin, because your not going to get through the gridlock on the 90 & City.


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## John DiMartino

Wow,that is a lot of snow,that first picture really amazes me,I have personally never seen that much snow at one falling.Do you need help up there?I can be there in 6 hrs.there cetainly isnt anything here,or on its way.


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## wxmn6

Buffalo and other lake effect area are getting alot of snow because of the way the jet stream is traveling up and down. If you watch The Weather Channel, you could see how unusual the jet stream is traveling. With the jet stream traveling up and down, the low pressure is stuck in the middle, no where to go. So that's why they are getting alot of lake effect snow.


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## Moony

What roads are clear enough to come up from phila.pa.? We can come in from the south or the east????????????


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## KSP1

Hey Hidles, give the guy a break. He posted some pictures and you attack him as be non professional. I guess we should all call you up when it snows 4 feet so you can save the day for all of the rest of us. 

Joe


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## 2401

*"BS detector" is buzzing.................*

KSP1 - I wouldn't get in too much of a hurry to see that 988 headed up the street - unless US 988's are a lot smaller than the ones we have in Canada they're not exactly a "roadable" machine, especially in the city...................................................

PetalsandPines - thanks for posting the pics. At least I get to see PICTURES of snow!


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## SlimJim Z71

OH... MY... GOD!!!!

What do you do with that much snow?!?!?! Wait... so THAT'S where it's all been going!!! We've had flurries everyday for the last week... but nothing to plow. Now we know the truth...

(Good luck, and make sure and take care of yourself!!!)

Tim


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## Alan

You got that right, Rob, as far as I know a 988 is too big to be on the street without flag rigs and permits, even in clear and dry conditions. From some of the comments I think we may be seeing another reincarnation happening.


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## Foz

Cool pics! Send some down to the fingerlakes...we need It! 

Hidles??? S.E. PA, do you even know what to do if it were to snow 18" in your area??? much less 3 foot plus??? Give the guy a break


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## Grant

Great pics!. Reminds me the '78 storm we had here, only that one was only one day and a couple feet of snow. That one just about did my '62 Ford F-250 in, but it kept going for 3 days of havin fun. You guys in W.N.Y. will always remember this one!


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## thelawnguy

PetalsandPines thanx for the pix, tho I dont envy you enough is enough lol.

9ftpiles, deisl, cletis, hidles, whats next?

Take a hint go away and BTW dont bother emailing me anymore I have your addy blocked.


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## SlimJim Z71

It's been a while... we're about due.


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## PetalsandPines

*PICS*

Hey Guys I'm not done yet.... I'll get some great pics tomorrow..I was landlocked today at home due to the streets...Just got out and got some plowin done tonight. The city has about 20 Dump trucks lined up on our main drag with heavy front end loaders on each street...I'll try to get some pics of this. You won't believe your eyes!! Since Xmas we officially received 56 Inches of Snow, 29 of which fell since last night!!


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## PetalsandPines

*pix..b4 the camera went dead*

more pix


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## Got Grass?

P&P you take some nice pix.
Took a ride arround the city tonight, main roads are ok but the side ones still suck, to many cars and nothing ya can do about it.

More and more and more snow is on the way.
were keeping up with it.


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## Comet

PetalsandPines 

Wonderful photos,, eXcellent snow conditions your having ,, 

Your running chains on your tires I presume, Yes?


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## SlimJim Z71

Man... that's a lot of snow.


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## Got Grass?

*Buff pix*

more pix to come when its light out.


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## Got Grass?




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## PetalsandPines

*Got Grass?*

Hey! Got Grass..Your Lucky!!! At least you can see the top of your stakes....I'm going on blind faith and dumb luck!


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## CT18fireman

Is that the pile you made??? Looks like you are getting a workout. Just saw it on the news here. Get some rest and try not to work to hard keeping up. 

Keep them pics coming!


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## Got Grass?

Yeah, extra long stakes at that place, most of mine are burried in piles. I didnt make the whole pile, the town made the peak (on the right) w/ a loader. Were gunna have lotta fun in the spring reparing the damage. at least I know I am. the ground isnt frozen solid yet.


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## PetalsandPines

*OH MY GOD*

As I awaken after 2 hours of sleep in disbelief, I realize that we got hammered again....stay tuned to national news!! South Buffalo NY


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## PetalsandPines

This is now the chevy truck from the previous post after 2 more feet of snow overnight!


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## PetalsandPines

*pix*

pix


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## PetalsandPines

px


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## PetalsandPines

*px*

pix


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## PetalsandPines

pix


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## Mike Nelson

Excellent photos 
Man you guys have your hands full

See ya in the spring when you thaw out!


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## HandyHaver

WOW!!! That's alot of friggin snow. I guess the only thing worse than no snow to plow is too much snow to plow. Look's like this storm made up for November, huh??

Mark


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## PetalsandPines

*SHUT DOWN*

I am now officially shut down. Gridlock, no side street access...Good Night....Light of day is coming ....now you will see the story the Freakin weather channel isn't showing...By the way...They are at our airport which is not even in the city of buffalo...they don't have anywhere near what we have!


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## PetalsandPines

*dum di dum dumm*

pix..YES THOSE ARE CARS...By the way that driveway and those cars were cleared yesterday morning!


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## PetalsandPines

*pix*

This is a picture of my street, I am standing on pavement taking this picture, those are cars on the right...That pile is where the 466?? front end loader gave up and retreated!


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## PetalsandPines

*pix*

pix


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## SlimJim Z71

Okay... changed my mind. You can keep the snow, I'll keep my flurries. So how much have you guys had total???


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## thelawnguy

So, how's the pricing structure go for these storms?


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## PetalsandPines

*The saga continues*

Right now we have had about 70 Inches since Christmas Day... It comes in evry 8-12 Hours off the lake and stays for about 6 -8 Hours...As for pricing structure...Regular Pickup truck plows are almost non-effective in the city right now...Looking for about 1-2 feet again tonight..We are in a state of emergency right now,I can't imagine what's going to happen tonight..NOWHERE TO PUT SNOW


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## Comet

Thats like years ago in 94-95 NYC-Brooklyn, when they had to haul it and dump into the East River. was no other alternative.

It was a wonderful year, and it put a lot of contractors to work.


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## Smither

Maybe I'm thinking on the morbid side here, but what do you do if you have a heart attack shoveling snow? How does the ambulance get there? And I hate to think of all the possible roof collapses from this. We all want some snow to make money, but this looks ridiculous. Mother Nature has a sick sense of humor sometimes. Good luck you all. Stay safe and keep us posted.


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## wxmn6

MAN! Look at that snow! I guess this is the worst storm Buffalo ever has? Did any of you has to run tire chains? Anyone that is still plowing or giving up?


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## wxmn6

Hey, remember the old saying, "Be careful what you ask for".


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## fireball

Great pictures, keep them coming since you can't be plowing. What kind of camera are you using?
We are sitting here in great awe as to what you are going through since you have reached what all good plows can handle. The only good news that I can give you is that Rudy will be available after Tuesday


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## PetalsandPines

*Camera*

Sony Mavica.....Officially the worst storm in the history of the city (Snow Wise) Thankfully not as life threatening as the infamous blizzard of '77

This picture is of a dairy farmer that drove this piece of equipment in from the Niagara Falls Area...He had to give up and go home at 6:00 to milk the cows!! This is the mound blocking my street


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## Evan

Petals,

When we got hit here in Michigan last year with only a couple feet of snow, one of the biggest markets was clearing the roofs of snow.

You might want to look into that if you aren't getting any plowing done and still want to make money.

One company out here got about $1000 per building for an apartment complex, there's probably 10 buildings in that complex.

Sincerely,

Evan


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## BOSS Adam

Man thats alot of snow, do you guys still have power there?


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## PetalsandPines

We still have power....What's unique about this storm is that there is NO WIND... If we had wind, we would have 20-30 foot drifts at least.

Here is a pic from up above looking down at some garages.....let it be known that these garages are about 10-12 feet at the base of their rooflines.


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## Randy Scott

Simply put, UNBELIEVABLE!


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## Rob

I guess with snow like that is where you separate the men from the boys, so to speak. That is awesome. Can't imagine what would happen if we had snow like that around here. Here, everyone panics at 3 inches.


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## mdb landscaping

wow i cant beleive my eyes. when we got two 24 inch storms last year it was total chaos. i can only imagine what its like there. you could use bulldozers. keep the pics coming. i want snow, but not that much.


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## bubble boy

that is completely unbelievable. lake effect is so isolated, toronto is about 50 miles north from buffalo. we got maybe 3/4 of an inch all week. areas west north and east of us all had maybe 40 inches. 

i always consider going to hard hit areas, but always afraid it'll snow when im gone. or what if i end up in the ditch, or do serious damage to the truck or plow? then my customers are screwed. in this case the bridge to the US closed, so not even an option.

if memory serves i believe what buffalo got in the last five days is about what we got all last winter, and that was considered a lot. i cant imagine where you'll put the snow.

fill us in on details-i hear I-90 closed now. obviously no one is working. are emergency services down? you mention being shut down, i guess the streets are just undrivable even with 4X4? and sleep-im guessing you have gotten maybe 8-9hours all week?


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## PetalsandPines

All thruways closed, airport closed, state & Local Offices closed, Firetrucks & emergency vehicles can't get down any side streets. My neighbors dog is missing...the stray cats I fed all summer are probably tunneling though my yard (or they're catsicles) God bless their souls Federal disaster aid has been requested. States of emergency everywhere. Yep Bubble Boy 8-9 hours sleep since Christmas...and when I can sleep I Can't!


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## matthew Urban

Man, thats some snowstorm.
Stay safe, whatever you do.


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## mtnbkn9

Good luck Buffalo....wish we had a little bit of that snow...not too much...my grass is still green here in Illinios....Thanks for the pictures....


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## Moony

if we were to come up, how close to the city can we get until they open 90?


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## Moony

where would we be if christopher columbus was scared of water and ships???


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## Moony

Ill bet if some of you guys and girl laid down some of that magic salt you wouldnt have all these problems you are experiencing>


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## fireball

Anyone hear whats going on over at Tug Hill, they seem to be getting hammered too


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## Rooster

Looks like it is time to call John Allin and crew to put a dent in the snow.

Hmm..... Chuck Smith are you there??


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## Gordon

So far this year all I've seen is a few flakes, man I would be making some money with my loader. Cha ching ===$$$

Have fun digging out of that one

Gordon


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## sledhead

*BIG snow*

I am in awe of what I see in your pics.
Absolutly buried, aint ya?
I would be worried about roof colapse also.
I've got enough snow here, since last sunday, to finally cover the grass and I'm excited. If I was in your shoes, I mean boots, I would be bouncing off the walls.
Of coarse I would'nt be able to ride the Ski-doo. Too much snow. Go figure.
And like you say with the streets blocked you cant plow.
But I would give anything to be there just to witness it first hand.
Snow storms have a way of waking up the senses and making you feel alive.

Sledhead

ps. keep the pics coming.
pss. I would check into some flood insurance if you dont already have it. Springtime is going to be nasty.


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## slplow

this is sooo unbelievable, even I can't believe it!! God Bless all. Hope your neighbor finds his dog (we have two and would go crazy if they were lost) and hope the cat is not catcicles. Even though we are not getting the snow I find myself glued watching the pictures on tv


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## SCL

Well we have one Jr. mem slamming another. Let's play nice. Hey Slim I got to plow two accounts yesterday. They called ME. Even my customers are wanting it now. But I ain't goin to Buffalo


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## Got Grass?

Well guys, I'm back. started at 5am today, and I'm almost finished. Peatals and Pines you guys got it worse then us. closer you get the the city the worse it is.

No chains, Illeagal, why? I dunno. 

Its hard to even make a dent in thoes areas, as to many cars on the road, if you can even find them. 

The snow is all compaced on the roads and drive its almost solid ice.
It's sad when 4wd loaders are getting stuck. Roofs are colapsing the Sanitation dept. lost the entire building at least a quarter million in garbage trucks, loaders and other equipment lost. Thay have to find a way to empty the crushed trucks and get the trash outta there.

Today was the worst for me. 

I got stuck a few times today as the ground still isnt frozen making it even worse, My right 2 rims were completely burried in mud. No was to get a tow truck out there as none would go in the driving ban. I had a F250 give me a yank breaking a tow strap. Then he slid into a snowbank with a chain. Eventually I got pulled out by a really nice plower with a F450 dump and he could barly get me out. Other time I got stuck the guy across the road helped shovel the ice out and gave me some 2x4's I ended up breaking them but eventually got out. Plowed his neighbor for helping me.

I broke a plow mount pin, but the plow stayed on resting on the mount bolt. I ended up following a guy with his plow stuck down becasue he lost a hydo hose. To the 24hr when snowing place about 2 miles away and got it fixed. He needed a wrench I needed the plow aligned and lifted.

Thay started ticketing people for driving durring the ban. Some plowers even got tickets. Cops just waved to me.

I hit everyone twice today once in the morning and then after the big snow, Have get a few more later on. 

There is absalutly no where to put this stuff anymore, Most 2 way residential streets are down to one lane if that. Primary roads are in decent shape. My driveways have at least 6-10 ft piles on the sides and about 10-15 ft piles at the entrance.

The city is running out of room to haul the snow to at least anywhere in wny. Parks, lots, anything open. Unfortunalty the DEC wont let us dump snow in the lake anymore becasue of the salt. Who cares most of this snow hasnt even seen salt and these piles are just going to run into the lake anyways.
Thay may end up bringing in some snow melters from Torronto, Buffalo currently dosnt have any as thay cost so much to use and we normally can deal with snow. Plus when the runoff goes into the sewers it freezes making things even worse.

The national guard is allready busy at work, but now thay have been called up from all over NY and other states as well. For manpower, loaders, trucks, Military hummers, Large blowers any anything at all thay can offer and bring in.

This is worse then 77. We allready broke most records, we just recieved our normal total for the YEAR, in 4 days. and are 1/2 way to breaking the all time snowiest season record. 
IN 4 DAYS!!!! It's gunna take a long, long time to get back to normal arround here. 

I sould buy some stock in seed and topsoil companies. As I'll prolly need a few truck loads.

I've seen some hummers stuck in the snow.
For emergencys thay send a plow in front of an ambulance if thay can if not thay either cary people out or use snomobiles w/ sleds.
Luckaly thre hasnt been any major fires, but if there was one It would prolly be put out from the snow when the roof gives in.
Snomobiles are bring people thier life or death prescriptions.

Trust me it's bad. But it looks like this storm has finnaly ended.
Yeah, another 2-4 tommarow but oh well who cares as long as thay dont measure it in feet and yards.

I jumped off the back of my truck into an unplowed lot and was almost up to my neck in snow. Luckaly I didnt jump to far and was able to grab onto the tailgate and pull myself up.


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## wxmn6

Really? Tire chains is illegal? According to the law that I found in DMV web site, it says, "Tires with metal studs are permitted to be used in NYS from October 16 through April 30, inclusive. They may not be used between May 1 and October 15, inclusive."

Maybe it is your local regulations?


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## matthew Urban

wow,
I am surprised about the tire chains. Especially with the winters there. 
Also the dumping, at this point, whereever it will go.
I watched the news and the road conditions look terrible, hang in there guys.
Good Luck,
Matt

P.S. I can't wait for more pictures.


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## Chloride

Chains are banned because they tend to fly off and hit people, i seen that happen a few times.But i believe in this emergency situation, yes definitly.


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## Earthscapes

I'm finally done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! min 80" in clarence for the week. Got stuck twice today, once so bad i had to climb out the window. Plow pump took a crap tonite. I have some pics. i need to sleep cya later


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## PetalsandPines

*Pix*

Now..this is what we got to deal with...things are starting to get REAL UGLY AROUND HERE!!!


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## PetalsandPines

*heavy duty snow removal*

pix


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## PetalsandPines

*AND THE FINAL TALLY IS:*

83.5 Inches of snow since christmas eve...55 Inches of compacted snow on the ground!!!
I will finally get some good pics tomorrow...when I really get out and finish up my contracts


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## oldmankent

Good luck with all that snow. Hope you've put some time aside to shovel off your roof. I don't think many roofs were built to carry live loads like that.


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## wxmn6

PetalsandPines, if your customers account is being charged for per push, then how many pushes did you have to do, or how many pushes will you be charging to them? I am not asking how much you are making, but just asking how many times you are charging them for this HUGE snowstorm.

By the way, please shovel off most of the snow off your roof. I'd hate to see it collapse on you.


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## mdb landscaping

i bet the tree crews will be busy in the spring. that is incredible


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## CT18fireman

I can't see anyone enforcing a chain law in that mess. I would be running them. I don't think any amount of salt could have prevented that accumulation or the hardpack and ice that will result from it. 

I would think that a lot of "rules" normal to plowing go out the window in a storm like that. You pile wherever you can and worry about it later. When plowers are driving down roads with the plow up and still moving snow that is a major snowfall. I don't think any town would have a problem with any help they received. The towns are going to have to spend a lot of money on extra equipment and men to haul away snow. 

Definately watch the rooves and trees.


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## carlriv2

WOW


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## Tommy10plows

*Shovelling off to Buffalo*

There is no way you could move in snow like that without chains.

Chains are fairly reliable pieces of equipment if you check them regularly and don't try to scratch your way out of a hole. Take your time and they will walk you right through. Use the v-bar reinforced chains, they wear longer. Make sure you have replacement links, quick clips, extra tensioners, vice grips, brake spoon and straight screwdriver with you to repair a broken link so it doesn't bang up your pretty truck.

Bring your road graders, Sno-Go Blowers and that Unimog you should have bought on E-Bay last week, that is the only way that town will dig out !

Enjoy the $$$, you guys will work your butts off for it!


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## fireball

I think you guys have earned your bragging rights with this. Better you than me


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## PetalsandPines

*hello from up above!*

pix


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## matthew Urban

P+P,
Be REALLY CAREFUL up there.

I almost took the fast way down once last winter clearing off the roof at work after a big storm. I had been plowing the day before and all night, and was to wired to sleep so I started shoveling out some windows over the porch roof that were drifted in, when I lost my footing. 
I'm really glad I caught another porch railing with the shovel on my way by before I went over the edge. 
It wold have been about 18 feet to the front lawn.

Watch you footing. 
Matt


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## finnegan

*basic training*

we'll have to have all you guys come up here and go through a buffalo snow boot camp


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## Alan

Kinda makes me wish I had bought that Sicard Jr. I was thinking about. Truck it as close as possible and then unload and dig a path in.


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## PetalsandPines

*The big fall*

Hey Matthew...thanks for the advice, however if I were to fall off that roof ...i wouldn't fall I would slide because the snow is up to the roof line...Now the problem would be head first or feet first and will there be anyone to find me!


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## PetalsandPines

*RECORD SUBJECT??*

I think this post may have broke the records on number of views & posts for a subject....And we've only just begun!


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## matthew Urban

Just be careful, 
it wouldn't take much of a fall, depending on how you land.

One other ? 

How are you going to bill for this?, per push by snowfall??
Just curious, since my worst storm was 3 feet, and that was 6 years ago.

Matt


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## jimsmowin

i like the snow also, old saying BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR YOU MIGHT JUST GET IT you know god does have a sense of humor


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## Got Grass?

On either side of thoes 2 cars there is one burried. you can kinda see the mirror on the one.


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## PetalsandPines

*Billing Questions...*

Unfortunately this was our first snowfall of the year....Most of my accounts are unlimited contracts from Nov 1 To Apr 1.... This time I got burned..up to this week, people were feeling that they weren't getting their money's worth ....WoopDEE Do!!! when most residentials go for $250- $350 per season round these parts. We got over 80 Inches of snow in four days...equalling our TOTAL ANNUAL AVERAGE SNOWFALL....And it's only December!! Round Here everyone and their brother has a plow on their truck, and it cuts into us "professional" Snow/Landscaping outfits. Thus it is hard to charge what SHOULD be charged...A couple people have tipped me on this storm, and some others are just being their ignorant selves. I am trying to get $50- $75 for an average driveway now (One Time)...It is really a feat, trying not to get stuck and blast through 7 feet of snow on an average apron....I don't think this price is out of line at all. Most driveways around here should be done with a bobcat or small front end loader now as it is difficult maneuvering when you got 6 ft walls of snow all around you. {People with heavy equipment would make a fortune here this week!}


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## Got Grass?

Someone gave up tring to un-burry this one.


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## nsmilligan

Just simply AWESOME! Good luck guys, I don't know how you are going to cope.

Bill


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## Got Grass?

This is what you call low visibility.


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## pats plowing

my uncle lives in orchard park said he had 1.5 ft after christmas. he went down to seneca falls to get his mother in law and she had 7ft in her driveway and area plows had broken down. wish we could get some snow here have fun making the $$.


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## Got Grass?

After the 250 couldnt pull me out and the F-450 did.


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## mdb landscaping

the HD is going to need a bath after the storm is over.


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## CT18fireman

Good reason to me not to have a per season price and with any contract you should always have a blizzard clause. What are you going to do for the rest of the winter now? 

Whether some guy with one truck or a "professional" (which in a lot of cases is still some guy in a pickup truck), no one could be prepared to plow or to pay for a snowfall like that. Now though it seems like if the winter continues with more snow you will see you profit margin go down because of a seasonal price. Now if you had done monthly you may or may not have broken even on December but at least the month is over and now you would be starting with a clean slate and checks for the month of Jan from your account.


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## PetalsandPines

*Blizzard Clause*

We are so used to "Blizzards" around here that many people ae even shrugging this one off!! I don''t think these people are seeing the big picture yet! Next phase to come is the collapsing roof phase & blizzard conditions (expecting 40 mph winds tomorrow....Lord help us!)


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## CT18fireman

Got Grass what kind of tires are those? Maybe it is the immense amount of snow but they look a little insuficient. Might be time to upgrade. I think I woulf definately be running chains in that stuff.


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## thelawnguy

I wouldnt go and change my pricing structure based on a freak occurrence.

How many of these 7 feet in a week storms do you expect?

I guess this is why some of us can make a living moving snow...  

PS: The worst part about the snow in Buffalo, IMO, is that you have 3 more months before this stuff will most likely melt away. At least around here, we (usually) get the big (18"+) storms after mid-February when at least the sun is strong enough to begin chipping away at it.


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## CT18fireman

That was my point. If I were to charge $250 to do a driveway for the season and did not factor a clause in then I would have lost money plowing this storm. Now maybe that is just in this area but that is a fact. If I had made it per month I may have lost this month but I would have three more months of winter to collect money on. If pricing was based on snowfall (like my residentials are in a per push way) then the storm would be a money maker in some way. Of course this is all just what I think is true in my area. I am not from Buffalo and do not know the market there.

Further I think that the fact that Petals keeps stating that he is a professional and that some guy with one truck and one plow is hurting his market is wrong. Those people may be just as much of a professional if not more then he. If he has a larger business then he should be able to control a larger piece of the market and larger accounts and not be affected by the solo operators.


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## Got Grass?

Factory on/off Firestones. Thay have great traction for stoping, turning, and no way I could afford anything better concidering thay are brand new (since oct) w/ the truck. Reason why I got stuck there is becasue thay just replaced the sewer/dranage lines but never told me, so it was still nice and fluffy. The ground isnt frozen yet, wich makes running out of room or getting stuck about the only options. If I sunk so bad a F-250 couldnt and a F-450 had a hard time getting me out, you know its not just a traction problem.
The other time I got stuck I couldnt get back on the pavement as the tire sunk in just enough to screw me up at the drive edge. 2x4's worked that time. The drives got iced over (snowpack) so getting enough traction w/ just rear wheels to pull me back up was pretty much impossible.


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## CT18fireman

I was not taking a shot at you or the truck. Maybe better tires may have helped a little. Probably not though. Mainly I was just again marveling at the pictures you post and am amazed you only got stuck twice. Fingers crossed for you. Are you totally done or just waiting?


----------



## Got Grass?

With the market arround here. You wouldnt have any work tring to get per pushes. Everyone wants a seasional contract. "How much for the season?" Thay ask. The way I have it set up my responce would be "between X$ and X$, depending on how many times I have to come out" My customers are allready over 1/2 way to gett bumped into the next bracket (about 25% more).

I have a couple per push ones, but thoes are only people who go on vacation at times and simply want it to look like someone is home. Thay call when thay go and I drive down the driveway a few times. plow if its bad.

I'm solo w/ one truck but also a profesional. What he's talking about are all the people who arready own a truck and decide to get a plow and a do some neighbors and get a few contracts for $150 a year and think thay are making out great. Only stoping in a couple times days after the snowfall.... In Landscapers terms SCRUBS. Eventually customers will get fed up with them and hire us becasue of our reputation for a great service for a great price, Yeah we will charge more then the other guy but thay will be able to get to work so thay can pay us. I have a few priotity customers Dr., Nurse, Firefighters, so thay always get done first and more often ecpecially when driving bans are in effect, as thay cant call it a snowday and have to be able to get to work. Quite a few of them thanked me for being the first guy thay hired that made it possible.


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## thelawnguy

"Everyone wants a seasional contract."

You are so lucky. This is the only way to go, IMO, if you can.

But as CT18fireman said, you also need a safety net in there to help bail you out of the freak occurrences. Even if it means you give a little back during the years when you do nothing but watch out the window (another freak occurrence?).

As for the tires, once the A/T tires that came oem with my truck wore out it was strictly snow tread after that. IMO there is no substitution. All season and all terrain is ok for cars and rock crawling but snow plowing demands snow treads.


----------



## Got Grass?

Didnt say or think you were CT.

I'm done with this storm.

Of cource if it drifts with some wind we are expecting, or the smaller 1-4inch ammounts we are going to get add up. I'll have to go back out. But thank god were done with any major accumulations for now.

I'm gunna try and take a ride into the city tommarow and hopefully help people out with thier entrance ways from what the plows left behind. That stuff is so heavy and compacted it hard to dig into with a shovel and a snowblower is practily useless.


----------



## CT18fireman

Sounds like you are prepared Got Grass and do not have to worry about the scrubs and with your bump ups you can compensate for a heavy snowfall. 

Aound here people would laugh at a seasonal contract. Most residentials only want to pay when work is done. Commercials you can get monthly sometimes seasonal if you offer year round service. No matter how you try to sell it.

I too run snow treads with a set of tires chained incase of severe ice or other needs.


----------



## JD PLOWER

GG, I was watching CNN and a local reporter (Buffalo) was on talking about the the storm and in one of the clips that was shown a truck that looked an awfull lot like yours was pushing in the background. Did you happen to notice a camera crew outside your passenger side window? Same style and color truck (the plow was buried.) You might be famous! Good luck and get some sleep.


----------



## Got Grass?

Hmm. Didnt notice anyone out my window, could have been tho. I did see a ch 2 news crew driving arround in one of my neighborhoods one time. Guess I gotta watch CNN now. 

Ive slept about 16hrs of it today.


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## nsmilligan

This must be getting to a new record for posts, and views?


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## 2401

Nsmiiligan - I think you're right! Not 100% sure if it's the MOST posts/views but this thread is definitely a contender!  

I guess Mother Nature finally got my message - Get to put in some hours working as a sub tonight - I'm going to start about 1:00 am and clear some lots in the industrial park near my workplace. Although, after seeing what our Buffalo members have been dealing with, I feel pretty "minor league" with only 8" - 10" of snow to deal with!


----------



## plowjockey

Saw that same CNN report and the first thing that came to mind was that the truck in the report looked like the ones in the post from got grass.

Bruce


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## Got Grass?

75, Congrats on finnaly being able to pay for some of that harley.
Just be glad you not getting hit like we did and will be able to ride it before labor day.


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## Earthscapes

time for a picture me stuck lol.... gotta love customers that take pics


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## Earthscapes

just a road


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## Earthscapes

better get the snow off the roof


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## Earthscapes

pic of my truck thankgod for my back plow will never plow without one.


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## Earthscapes

Good news WNY guys winds are only gonna be 30 to 40 MPH sunday. nothing better than plowing 10' drifts. If you need help my # is on my truck.


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## Got Grass?

Earthscapes, Nice stuck job. Cant read the #.
If ya get stuck like that again and need a tow or help with the drifts we may get. #310-2814 my cell, anytime. As we all know we dont sleep normal hrs. 
Thoes pix are from Clarence Center right?
Yeah, backplows are nice, but just just be carefull in this stuff so ya dont get too much stuck between plow and wheels and lift em off the ground.


----------



## Big Sam

SCAPES, You look like you know what your doing!SEND MORE PIX


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## TurfPlus

Hey Earth, 
I can't see the number. The snow is too high.......lol.


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## wxmn6

Unbelieveable. I don't have any idea how you got through this stuff.


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## 2401

Got Grass - yes, it'll be nice to be able to throw some $$$ at the Harley AND my plowing insurance................  

Earthscapes - regarding the "stuck" pic, gotta love them Kodak moments.......................... Nice thing about plowing industrial lots in the wee hours of the morning is, no spectators! 

Thanks everyone for taking and posting the pics to keep us informed, especially being as busy as you were (and still are no doubt)


----------



## Earthscapes

433-2869 office and 570-6183 cell Pics are from Clarence. Stuck is up in Spaulding Lake,, the town used the monster snowblower and buried the end of the driveway. i was cruising around the circle looked forward said F%$# stomped on the gas but never made it out. Oh well what the heck u gonna do.


----------



## Earthscapes

Got Grass.. just read some of your larger stories LOL. Man the SCRUBS are finally starting to show and i love it. I had 4 accounts in a row for the past few years. Sent them a bill for $250 each this season. no reponse. I drive around and see the driveways staked (plain wood no paint for colors) X-mas day i see one of the owners he say's guy charged them $180 for drives and $20 to shovel the front walks. now that day the drives were done. I drive by yesterday and the same owner is out snowblowing around 5pm. I stop and say Hi and ask how his new plow guy is. Hasn't seen the guy since x-mas day. I laugh and say you get what u pay for. I tell him my customers were already plowed and i was just opening up the ends of the driveways and getting ready to go home. I hate SCRUBS and when they are stuck in driveways i drive by and laugh.


----------



## Earthscapes

Thinking about summer 

http://pm26.50megs.com/


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## PetalsandPines

*Fireman*

I am not knocking solo operators, I am in essence a solo operator, however many of these people are doing this as a side job and treat it as a side job.....They undercut you, have no insurance, no licenses and get to the customers usually after their "Real" job (or a couple days later).... Often I am cycling through a storm every 4-6 Inches giving my customers more bang for their buck. These scrubs come when it is convenient for them.....Or you have operators that roundup 100's of contracts and sub out their work to these same people who are doing it for beer money, severely undermining the integrity of the true snow removal professional....Professional in stating you devote your time to this job & only this job during the winter.


----------



## sledhead

*Low visability?*

These pictures are great.
I envy you guys.
I know you are putting in long hours and I'm sure there is alot of truck and plow abuse associated with that much snow.
But d$%^ I wish I was there.

Sledhead


----------



## Got Grass?

Last night a friend of mine who works at a hair place and apartmant complex, had the tennant call me and ask If I could plow thier lot as the development company showed up only twice this whole time and did a extremely poor job. She asked if I could plow the lot and send her a bill for whatever she would write me a check and take it off her rent. I told her I could make and attempt at it but if it hasnt been done I cant garentee her anything axcept for a dent. She eventually got ahold of the property maintenance girl who it turns out went to toronto right as this thing was starting. 
The property girl called me and asked how much I charged, figuring thay needed extreme help I offerd $75 hr. She pretty much laughed in my ear and said, that was not gunna work and her guys would eventually get there. I just drove by there and saw a tractor sitting there with the light on and still un plowed parking spaces and piles where ever thay felt like putting them.
Really sad.

I stop in 7-11 tonight and the lady working there said she worked for a development company and subs out the work. One property has been plowed only once. She called the guy and he said he was busy with his residential customers and hasnt had a chance to get there. She laughed at him and said people live here too and need to get out. She had to call out someone with loaders to clean it up a bit for 4 times the cost of this guy. The development co. wanted her to get names and #'s of people who were good at plowing. So I gave her my card and she's talking to the other people to get me in there and drop this guy.

Yeah, this is a bad storm but I managed to get all mine done by working with the storm and knowing a lot more was on the way. Why cant others do the same? Either thay wait to long or thay take on way to much. Know your limits, this is Buffalo you cant figure in the time for 3 inches when can can get 8 ft. of cource no one planed on 8ft. But at least give yourself enough time for a couple feet. and relize we can get 2-4inches per hr. or more.

Yeah, some people follow the law and dont go out when thier is a driving ban, but we are plowers and its almost unheard of plowers getting a ticket. If thiers a driving ban here it's bad and even more reason to be out in the weather tring to keep up. Why dont these guys? Prolly becasue thay are not propery licenced.

I make frequent visits durring the storm for 2 reasons. 
#1, To keep up and not have to call in someone with heavy equip. 
#2, more $, customers are billed not per puch but total times for season. This is the easiest way to up that #.

I just dont get some people. Yeah there may be reasons for being delayed. but we dont need some idiot from down south or where ever, thinking thay know what snow is and how to plow snow just becasue thay can plow thier farm. It's not the same.

Sorry guys I'm just ticked off about these idiots. Scrubs are worse now becasue thay put others at risk and thier customers lives on hold. What if a customer has an emergency and cant get out or medics cant get in becasue its not plowed? what happens then?
Durring the summer months Scrubs just lowball and do a poor job. It dosnt put anyone at risk like this.


----------



## PetalsandPines

*VERY WELL SAID ...GOT GRASS*

Nobody should be in any position to comment on our practices or thoughts towards these scrubs here until they have experienced something like this! Winds are really kicking up now here 20-40 MPH....10-15 day outlook now is for frigid weather...This stuff aint going no where and that lake is still wide open....Hey Got Grass...If you want to see some crazy stuff, take a ride out to the Clinton / South Ogden l lOvejoy .Kaisertown area. My street is still abandoned. It is a very eerie sight. As for bent body panels, you just have to be careful turning into large piles...There is no such thing as charging a pile in this storm ....You just have to nibble at things.
I got a fully charged camera and am finally going to get out and snap some pics today!


----------



## John DiMartino

It storms like the one your having now,that test the limits of the best plow companys ,you guys came thru it,well it sounds like.This storm should eliminate a lot of the scrubs for you,it takes a big one sometimes to weed them out.We call it failure to perform,either way it usually gets the scrub fired,and real pro in there.I have got my best accounts from big storms,they appreciate great service now,and are willing to pay for,knowing 1st hand how much more it will cost if they try to svae a few dollars.


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## finnegan

*blizzard*

hey wny members, i'm down hamburg and gettin' pounded by winds,starting to see 15ft drifts across roads-zero visibility will try to post some pics but i think they are too high res for it to work


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## wxmn6

Any more pix to post? I enjoy looking at the pix you WNY guys posted. Really impressive snowfall. Where are you going to put the snow if another storm come?


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## mtnbkn9

WNY....you guys have really done a great job keeping us updated on the storm...and thanks for all the great pictures...keep them coming...good luck guys


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## PetalsandPines

*I'VE GOT A GOOD ONE BOYS!!!!!*

This is the best one I've heard in quite some time....I saw a payloader working to clear a house so I asked a neighbor if the operator was private or with the city....The woman got so pissed off and told me that he was doing a private home with a city payloader...She was so fired up that she was telling all the neighbors about this "travisty" So Finally I asked...How do you know he's working for the city and not just running that machinery for a private outfit? Reply "Because it says New Holland" After almost falling over in laughter, I informed her that New Holland is the manufacturer of the equipment.... On to the next street   :


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## matthew Urban

Gotta love that. nice story.

How are things up in Buffalo?
anything in the forcast?

matt


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## PetalsandPines

*pix*

This is the real story of what happened in Buffalo!!!


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## PetalsandPines

*pix*

This is a driveway that I was supposed to do.....How in the hell are you supposed to get through that?? (Pile extended back 10 feet at approximately 7 feet deep!)


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## PetalsandPines

*NOW THAT'S A SNOWBLOWER!!!!*

pix


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## PetalsandPines

*pix*

this is the thruway


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## PetalsandPines

*Ice cubes to supply a small city?*

Wow


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## Got Grass?

Finnegan, Need any help down there?
P&P, If I get a chance I'll take a drive down there
I was going to head into the city and Cheektowaga today but I ended up sleeping all day. 

I"m hoping these winds dont screw things up to much, hopefully not as the snow has compacted a lot.

If we get another one, were going to have to find room. Weather it be the small areas we do have left or taking up driveway space. Turn arrounds and room for extra cars will be the only place.

The south towns and southern tier in the ski areas have been getting pounded. Snow showers predicted here every day this week except wed. and cold. 20's for highs all week. NO more major accumulations.
The lake is still way above normal temps so the lake effect machine is still ready to go again.


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## pcs

I went down Friday night and just came back. You can't go by the pictures. There is alot more snow then it seems like. I have never seen anything like what I went through.

I meet up with some guy's from PA who came up for the storm.

May go back down tonight or tomorrow. You need a bob-cat to clear those driveways.

If anyone needs another truck or a bob-cat and an operator e-mail me. [email protected]


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## 4 Saisons

Keep on the good works!!!

Never seen a so big storm. Looks like you handle it well. 

VERY NICE FOLLOW UP....2 Thumbs up!!


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## SlimJim Z71

Man look at the size of that icicle (sp?)!!! That would definately be fatal if it hit someone. Thanks for all the pictures guys! That is absolutely incredible. I can't even comprehend being in that much snow... course, we've only had flurries so far this season. Hopefully, I'll be knee deep soon enough. Hope you all are doing well, and hopefully mother nature will give you guys a break to get things under control before she let's loose on you again.


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## Deere John

In our 21 years, our biggest 24 hour dump was about 29 inches in 1987. That was tough because we were already well into our winter and stacking room was limited and we did not then have a loader. But looking at your pictures (thanks), ours was a cake walk relatively speaking.

I admire your professionalism and determination to do what's right for your customers. I also agree that a seasonal rate covers freak events like this.


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## BushHogBoy

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! 
Totally awesome!!! great pics, keep 'em coming, and best of luck to you all, i'd love to be there, helpless but i'd have fun just being around all that snow, 1' is all you dare dream of here, if there's a blizzard maybe 2', but that's it. unbeleivable, my family and i love looking at the pics!


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## GeoffD

I don't think there is anything awesome about 7 feet of snow all at once. These guys probably drove to they where physically exhausted. I am not even sure if i could handle that much snow at once.

Congrats to you guys.

Last year we took on 2' and a little more, and that was a tough storm with the winds we had to deal with. Don't know how to deal with 7'.

Geoff


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## Earthscapes

some more pics


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## Earthscapes

amherst area house's my friend plows


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## Earthscapes

#2


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## Earthscapes

This has to be the best photo i have "The Co. i worked at for the last 8 yrs" Good luck hope you get your truck fixed hahaha


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## Repoman

I'v noticed a few of your pix of the plow and noticed you weren't wearing your shoes.I would figure the plow would travel a lot smoother in heavy snow.Maybe shim it about 1/2" and let the weight of the blade ride on them.Just curious.


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## Earthscapes

i never use shoes. I have them if you would like me to send em your way. I never liked to use them. I dunno ? maybe i should ? i have no clue. I do all residental and always thought i would get the best scrape if i didn't use shoes.


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## flakesmeangreen

WOW!!!

don't even know what to say. the last thing i ever want to see is 7' of snow at once. i can't even fathom it!!! congrats to u guys up for there keeping up w/ the storm & providing excellent service to your customers! love all the pics...AMAZING!!!


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## DaveO

*Incredible!*

Looks like the ultimate test of driver and equipment. If nothing broke during that test...That much snow will defintely weed out the "scrubs" as you call them.

Around here, lowballers have been stealing a lot of business due to very mild winters. We need at least a couple of 8-12" storms to remind people that you get what you pay for sometimes. But I'll pass on the 7' week events.

Thanx to you guys for the great pix. Get some sleep!!

Dave


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## Repoman

After pushing a record breaker,how are your springs holding up?


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## PetalsandPines

*Status report*

That must be hidles?? The professional in front of my house with the Cat 950...Jeesh that must have been a long ride!  
Got a few more pics b4 I hit the sac! PS Knock on wood, NO Broken equipment whatsoever...oh sorry (cracked my plowlight..Darnit!)


----------



## PetalsandPines

*pix*

the pile in my street...All gone now! Courtesy of George Bush!


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## PetalsandPines

*HIDLES ..IS THAT YOU?*

Look at the "professional" in the big payloader


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## matthew Urban

thanks for the pictures, they are great. 

If you need another use for your plow shoes, mine made a great anchor for when i go fishing.


----------



## GLS

> HIDLES ..IS THAT YOU?


Couldn't be hidles...he has a 988, and that's an 850F. hehe


----------



## mdb landscaping

you may need to take the shoes back off the line matt, they are talking about a couple of storms for this weekend. who knows which way they could go though. the pictures are great. keep em coming.


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## matthew Urban

mdb landscaping,
what have you heard?

Nothing interesting yet here, 

I could use 6-8 inches.
matt


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## mdb landscaping

just saw the weather. they think its going to go out to sea right at long island sound, but they said a shift in the path could give us snow. we really need some badly.


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## Bill c

Words and pictures show alot but you really gotta be there to understand it.I work for the railroad and went to frontier yard in depew to help clean up.I have never seen anything like this ever,the first night they put me in a rented loader and I plowed access roads to the track so that the guys following behind me could clean the switches to get the trains through.There is so much snow that they brought in excavators to stack the snow. I left sunday to be home today for surgery and they where making "snowball expresses"which are trains full of empty gon cars which they fill with snow and take to florida to melt.I really feel for you guys plowing with pickups I got stuck at least five times and was running a loader.I love snow but this is something else, good luck to all you guys trying to dig out your gonna need all you can get.


----------



## Got Grass?

More pix. Went down to Petals & Pines hood today.


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## matthew Urban

Looks like its down to one lane, 
better you than me. 

Happy New Years.


----------



## Got Grass?

Looks like P&P's Hectors is done with.

Notice the front wall falling off and 2x4's for supports.


----------



## Got Grass?

oops.


----------



## Got Grass?

2 way road. argh picture didnt go in again and I cant delete it.


----------



## Got Grass?

...


----------



## Got Grass?

At least you can see this one. Roof caved in, Hope thay have good insurance.


----------



## Got Grass?

A road thats done.


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## PetalsandPines

*Got Grass in the Hood!*

Pretty crazy stuff here eh? Looks like you were on South Ogden for the one pic


----------



## Got Grass?

P&P, I have a apartment in the Pine Hill area not to far away so I thoguht I'd check you guys out. 
Yup was down your road as well. Looks like the city gave up and left you guys stranded. The east side isnt even as bad.
I was down there for about 1hr driving arround and made $60 just pulling people who got stuck in the road and were in my way out. 
You about cought up with your work? 
From what I saw It looks like a bobcat cant stack high enough, a loader cant fit in, a plow cant push it, a snow blower would get jamed up with ice, and a shovel would send people to the ER. but is about the only option other then wating till labor day for it to all melt.


One good thing about all of this is we are going to have a lot of landscaping to replace next spring/summer or whenever this all melts. 

I gave out all the cards I had to people who saw me work in this stuff and either want me for next winter or for the warmer months (in my areas).

Good luck, you really need it.

I took a few pic of 4wd loaders and national guard ones that look like tanks with buckets. Thay didnt come out. Or I woulda put them up.


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## finnegan

pic


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## BerksLawn

Wow thats alot of snow, sounds like you guys handled it well. Maybe its time to get one of these http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=599823223&r=0&t=0

Later,
Steve


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## sledhead

Great pics GG.
Thanks for giving us an inside view of the "real" story there.

Keep em commin.


Sledhead


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## OBRYANMAINT

are you guys expeccted to get more?


----------



## finnegan

christmas day


----------



## litle green guy

Man that is SO MUCH SNOW! If we ever got that much down here the whole area would be devistated. The most I can ever remeber us having is about 30". Last year we got 2 feet 2 days before new years, that was a tough storm for us, I can't even imagine what would happen with 7 feet. You guys seem to be doing a GREAT job, keep up the good work. The pics are great too, I'm just glad I'm not the one taking them. Now if we would just start getting some snow....


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## matthew Urban

Just wanted to thank you guys for keeping us in tune with what the snow world is like.
It'll get here sooner or later, I hope .
Matt


----------



## Rider1340

Nice Roads, must be nice to have 4x4 snowblower cleaning up for you's.


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## Rider1340

Looks like Buffalo still has plenty of work left up there.Between yanking vehicles out for 20.00 and clearing drives for abean , you can still clean up .$


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## keitha

*Watertown & tug hill*

Here is a shot of the clean up at Lowes in Watertown,NY 12/31/01


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## keitha

*Tug Hill Copenhagen, NY*

Village of Copenhagen , Ny 1/3/02
area residents say they had 5-6 feet. Not that unusual for this area.


----------



## CAT

I have a pick up with a plow and 6200 deer with no snow in new brunswick looking for work


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## sbvfd592

lets see if we can have that hapen agen this year


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## Got Grass?

*NO*

NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## CT18fireman

Why?

So contractors can lose money and then be insulted by the public, press and governtment?

Does not make sense to me.


----------



## Rooster

GG:

Why not? You learned how to plow for sure last winter!!!

:waving: :waving:


----------



## Got Grass?

I'd love it if only people would fall for per plow, per push.


----------



## Earthscapes

Sorry i just had to bring it back up to the top...... Do you guys remember !!!!!!!!


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## JohnnyU

Man, that really impresses me, that the town could recover from that, within a decade! If that happened here, well in 99 we got like 18" and high winds and people went apesh!t, i cant imagine what theyd do if it was 4ft!


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## bubble boy

i can't believe i'm still subscribed to this thread!!

i didn't re-read, so i don't know if i posted this. but that storm in buffalo was crazy lake effect at its best. in toronto we got a DUSTING that week-i didn't even need to plow. only about 80 or so miles away, less as the crow flies.

happens a lot. watching buffalo weather reports is always interesting


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## kawdude

I live abot 65 miles east of buffalo, the most we got at once was about 4 inches INCHES my dad and my brother were both in buff last year with dump trucks doing removal, i diddnt have a plow last year otherwise I would have done what I could, hope you guys dont get banged like that again

BTW i got to put a whole 14 miles on my snowmobile last year, ALL YEAR! I sold it


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## chrisby316

I finally made it to the end of this thread! Good luck to you guys in buffalo. I think i am going to move there next year. looks like they get some serious snow to plow. unlike here in ct where....well i'll wait and see before i say anything!


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## Grant

I could not help myself, just re- read the whole thing over. Still impressive! Always makes me wonder what the future holds...


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## PetalsandPines

*To those in other areas of the country*

You know, the worst thing is ....We get hit with twenty inches of snow the other day and I am like "So What?" After last years storm I feel unchallenged by this! And for you people who have never had to deal with the fury of a lake effect storm. Forget trying to plan these through, They can turn in your direction and dump 2-4" An HOUR, So imagine trying to "keep up" with the plowing (as everyone says). It becomes a non-stop marathon! Then factor in traffic, or wind, or the ground that is or wasn't quite froze. I wish I could find the other pics from this storm. I will try to find more.


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## bdsean

i agree i remmember wathing the forcast 2 days before the storm hit and it wast suposed to make it passed orchard park next thing they know its right over us


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## Got Grass?

20" big deal... lol, a lot of you would be shut down for a week. It's all about how prepared the DOT's are...

P&P dont forget to include all the abandoned cars blocking the roads, making it totaly impossible to get past the gridlock to your accounts. spend 3hrs tring to find a way to get 1/4 mile out of your neighborhood.

Last years storm proved a lot to us personally. That whatever mother nature drops down on us we can make it through. Yeah we will have to put up a tough fight. but we are still arround this year. Most importantly how much extreme mental & physcial exaustion a human can take & still some how manage to drive arround when it's coming down at 3-5" hr... I'm the kinda guy who normally needs his 8-9hrs sleep every night.

This season seems to be starting out a lot like 00-01.\
.. not good.

Hey if any of you have pictures of mine not in this thread please let me know my drive crashed in the fall & I lost all my winter pix. Thanks


----------



## chrisby316

That was lst year! you guys had me so confused! I thought it was this year. I was wondering how i missed this post! well anyways I am a moron.


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## C&D LANDSCAPING

WOW!!! Lake effect snows are harsh, we got hit with 36" in 24 hr in dec 2001. Took 52 hours just to get thing opened up and another week of blowing and hauling to get it cleaned up , can't even imagine 7 ft.
COREY


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## shamrock1

Our weekend/ Monday event was really a nice opening test for the season, Did great deal of full service plowing, even stacking work w/ Komatsu 180 in Orchard Park on Monday night.....

As Grass said, 20" of general area snowfall (24" in spots of Orchard Park / Hamburg/Blasdell areas) was really nothing compared to last season's A..Kicking around Christmas, DOT did good job keeping all major routes 90/I190/20/20A open so all of our crew could get around fairly easily....

Had to give up my Bills/Miami Tix though, did not know where and when the Lake Erie Machine was going to strike exactly, figured better safe than sorry and trapped in Ralph Wilson Stadium traffic. 

As it stood snow really started to hammer away in Southtowns around 300PM Sunday and finally stopped around 0700PM Monday. 

Looks like NYC/ Wash DC/Jersey area Plowers are ready to take their rigs out and start making $$$$$ today

 

Let it Snow !!!!!!!!!


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## PetalsandPines

*What a Thread*

What memories this thread brings back


----------



## ADLAWNCUTTERS

i must say those storms did bust my b..... but after 20 years of plowing i was ready for it..My 3 diesel superduties did somewhat keep up,they earn thier money.That why i will only use DIESEL trucks and plow with the storm and have good people working for you makes the difference.And did not take on more work than i could handle. I have a saying " pigs get fatter hogs get slaughtered..After all that some people here in buffalo still won't pay. Thats why i get my price ,all of my customers where plowed and open .at no extra cost i stand by my word even when i was losing money ..Thats what a god business does. Good luck


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## Santo

I'll bet P&P has a big loader behind his garage for just that occasion.

Fool me once shame on me,
Fool me twice.........


----------



## PetalsandPines

*Big Loader*

Yes I do.....It's called a Shovel!


----------



## sbrennan007

This was quite impressive. You guys sure have braggin rights after a storm like this one! :salute:


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## Mike 97 SS

I just read the WHOLE thread, from beginning to end! That is just sick, way too much snow! I love snow, just like the rest of you guys, but that is just too much. I wouldnt want anything like that here, the occasional 2' blizzard we get is more than enough to deal with, 7' I cannot even imagine! Great thread, thanks for all the pictures!!  Mike :waving:


----------



## homey1

THREE YEARS LATER, AND THESE PICS ARE STILL UNBELIEVABLE!!


----------



## PLOWMAN45

this is 3 years ago right


----------



## finnegan

oh yeah almost to the day-still have pics i didnt post


----------



## finnegan

found some


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## finnegan

from hamburg


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## finnegan

from cheektowaga/depew


----------



## Got Grass?

Hey, 3yrs ago was the predicted 7ft storm I hope we never see again. 4yrs ago was the unexpected complete gridlock thanksgiving day eve storm that completely screwed up black Friday...

Either one I hope we never see again... Knowing my luck we'll have another thanksgiving storm considering we are having 60-75 people here, about 15 flying in... It's gunna be crazy dealing with family, cooking turkeys & heating up all the extras everyone's bringing...


----------



## George C

I remember that one well!


----------



## PetalsandPines

*Something is not right here in Buffalo*

I don't know about you guys, but something just ain't right around here, I've got a weird feeling about another biggie this winter...Isn't this how the winter of 2000 started? (Thanksgiving Storm)
50's and sunny all week? 2nd Week of November?
Great for the Landscaping end. Not good for freezing that darn lake


----------



## finnegan

yeah its kinda like being in a scary movie and the creepy musics starting to play-all you can do is be ready -and expect the unexpected....


----------



## finnegan

*holy crap!*

i just realized this post has been viewed over 20,000 times ,does petals get a free t shirt or something -this has to be the record


----------



## mole

I have been praying all week that we don't see another storm like the pre turkey day storm. I might be in CT for the holiday. But will see what the weather guy's say. If that matters. If I'm plowing I'll have my camera ready this year.


----------



## PetalsandPines

*Hey WNY GUYS........Sound The Alert....*

Quoted from the National Weather Service "Discussion Page" this morning....Next Tuesday...will keep chance of snow showers as air still cold enough 
for lake effect snow showers and next front approaches lower lakes 
later in the day reinforcing the cold air over the region setting 
the stage for possible heavy snows and travel problems around the 
Thanksgiving Holiday.

DEJA VU????


----------



## Craftybigdog

Man I want some! Maybe not that much though


----------



## Craftybigdog

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## finnegan

yeah its been awhile since we saw one like that looks like fun but it really isnt........


----------



## ADLAWNCUTTERS

I remember the storm well,Im ready for what ever comes .Im more worried about fuel prices.


----------



## Got Grass?

It's that time of year again to being up the dreaded memories... 
Snow's hitting the higher elevations of the south towns tonight...pumpkin: 
Hopefully not here for a few more weeks...
In no way am I ready to handle a 7ft storm again w/o some help... Luckily I have someone w/ loaders to stack the stuff if need be on my BIG (4+acre) lots...:realmad: 
The residential I'm good with. Still looking for RELIABLE help...


----------



## Mark Oomkes

I'd rather not relive that week either. We only received 5-6 feet here in GR depending on what side of town you are on. The airport is on the east side, officially received 59" that week. We have a couple routes on the other side of town, closer to the lake, they were in the 6 foot range. 

Plowed everything at least twice a day for the better part of a week. Dump a ton of salt down at a place that normally would get maybe half a ton, a squall would come through and it would have 1/4-1/2" in 10-15 minutes. Very, very frustrating and stressful week.


----------



## Craftybigdog

Yeah when you get something like that you just do the best you can and thats all you can do!


----------



## grandview

I was there for that storm to in the lancaster area .When I got home after what seem like month I couldn't even plow my own driveway had to shovel it and my drive holds like 8 cars .Ialways park them off to the side for plowing but we had a party that night so i just left them in the middle of the drive:crying:


----------



## Lux Lawn

Craftybigdog said:


> Yeah when you get something like that you just do the best you can and thats all you can do!


Your not kidding...with that much snow there's almost nowhere to put it.The sad thing is there is still people that will be complaining about not being clean in time.


----------



## PetalsandPines

*Interesting Reading from NOAA (Summary of this event)*

As I watch the impending snowstorm develop for Buffalo Today, I wanted to find out how the "Big One" started a few years ago. Hey local guys..... The scenario today looks kinda similiar Lake snows developing over niagara county, low pressure in the upper lakes. Bands sinking southward over the city . 3 Day lake effect snow warning. HMMMMM??

LAKE EFFECT STORM "BALD EAGLE"

December 24, 2001- Jan 1, 2002

Flake Scale *****5 Stars

Maximum Snowfall: Lake Erie: Buffalo Airport 81.6" Lake Ontario: Montague 127"

Duration: 7 Days

Prime Feature: Longest lasting lake effect event on record. Record snowfalls, tremendous metropolitan impact. Not much wind. Temperatures not exceptionally cold.

After a record warm and nearly snowless November and December, western and central New York underwent one of the most significant and abrupt changes in the weather that has ever been recorded in this area. Almost no snow had been recorded in the region (1.6 inches at Buffalo) up until the days before Christmas, leaving everyone wondering if we would have a white Christmas at all.

By about December 22nd, forecasters began to see signs of a significant change in the large scale weather pattern across North America. Advanced computer models were showing a blocking pattern developing over Greenland at upper levels of the atmosphere, forcing an upper level, closed low to develop and strengthen over the Upper Great Lakes. Forecasters on the eastern Great Lakes are familiar with this synoptic pattern, because it is conducive to the heaviest lake effect snows in western and central New York.

The low was forecast to trap enough cold air from northern Canada to produce heavy lake snows. Even more alarming was the forecast that the upper low would move little, if any during the next week. This would produce more serious implications for the eastern lakes.

1. The pattern would mean that an extended period of lake effect snow was likely, possible for an entire week.. 2. The wind direction would remain the same for a long time, which would result in a band staying over one particular region for days at a time.

Forecasters were alarmed and excited at the same time. This storm had the potential to produce tremendous amounts of snow, and because the winds were forecast to be generally from a southwest direction, Buffalo, NY looked like it was going to be hit hard.

The storm could really be broken into two parts. The first portion of the extended event occurred on December 24-25th and mainly affected areas downwind of Lake Erie including metro Buffalo. The second part of the event brought a second punch to areas downwind of Lake Erie, and pummelled the snowbelts of Lake Ontario between Watertown and Syracuse.

Part I - Lake Erie
Multiple bands of lake snow developed well to the north over the Niagara peninsula during Monday (24th) morning and extended into Niagara and far northern Erie county into early afternoon and dropped up to 6". The activity consolidated into a single band during the mid afternoon and dropped slowly south across the metro area through the evening and diminished after midnight as it drifted south. The band was very intense during the evening with thunder and snowfall rates of 4" per hour. It hung near the airport longest.

Winds backed again on Christmas Day, the 25th, but the band was much weaker and pushed north across the area dropping another 1 to 3 inches before lifting way north by late Christmas evening. Some of this activity even reached Toronto Christmas night. The action pretty much shut off early Wednesday, but Part II of this epoch event was poised to develop later on Wednesday afternoon.

Amounts from Part I were in the range of 12 to 16 inches over a large portion of metro Buffalo and extended north to Grand Island and Lockport. Even Niagara Falls caught 8-10 inches. A small area of heaviest snow fell near the airport with 20-24 inches. The 25.2 inches was 3rd greatest 24 hour total ever at the Airport.

Part II - Lake Erie
By Wednesday, the 26th, the snowband began to redevelop over the Niagara Peninsula of nearby southern Ontario. The Niagara Peninsula was clobbered by heavy snowfall through the day. Wednesday evening, the band began its trek south toward metro Buffalo once again, the second lethal blow hit the metro area with 8 inches of snow in a 6 hour period of time. The band continued to wiggle and dance as it moved very slowly south to the immediate southtowns during the night and produced snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches an hour over that region. By Thursday morning at 8AM the band had once again started north and through the next 6 to 7 hours heavy snow hit metro Buffalo again, the third lethal blow. In a 7 hour period of time about 18 inches of snow was recorded at the Buffalo airport. Then late in the afternoon the band decided to head south again and blasted the southtowns. The fourth and deciding blow occurred on the 28th, when in the wee hours of the morning the band struck once again. In the 6 hour period from 1AM to 7AM another 15.2 inches of snow fell, with another 7 inches occurring in a two hour period from 11AM to 1PM.

By the time the band headed south for the last time and bade farewell to Buffalo, 81.6 inches of snow had fallen at the airport and portions of the surrounding suburbs. The band had crossed the metro area no less than 6 times in a 5-day period of time! Our neighbors in southern Ontario reported as much as 60 inches of snow near Port Colborne.

Through the 29th and 31st a slight shift in the wind direction moved the snowband across the traditional snowbelts well south of Buffalo. Areas of southern Erie, Wyoming, northern Chautauqua and northern Cattaraugus counties saw over 5 feet of snow during the 3 day period of time. Ski areas were overjoyed!

The snow continued across the ski country through the morning of the 1st of January before a ridge aloft produced strong subsidence and the winds veered more to a NW direction.

Part I - Lake Ontario
The first part of the event on the 24th and 25th was limited to St. Lawrence and extreme northern Jefferson counties because the winds were out of a SSW direction. The large scale weather pattern which included the cut-off low over the Upper Great Lakes was too far west of the eastern shores of Lake Ontario to provide well organized snowbands. In fact, the highest snowfall totals were highest across Chaumont in northern Jefferson county. However, the traditional snowbelts over the Tug Hill Plateau reported very little snow.

Part II - Lake Ontario
During the night of the 26th and daytime hours of the 27th the snowband fired up again mainly across the northern parts of Jefferson county...north of Watertown. the snowband continued across the far northern portions of Jefferson county. Then on the 28th the band settled south across southern Jefferson and Lewis counties. Snowfall totals on the 28th were over 30 inches at Montague. Thunder and lightning were reported within the band that evening as snow fell at rates of 2 to 4 inches an hour. The winds remained out of generally a westerly direction...though small scale disturbances shifted the winds enough to make the band oscillate north and south across southern Jefferson and Lewis counties through the 30th, with Montague picking up another 4 feet of snow in a 24 hour period. By late on the afternoon of the 31st, the band narrowed and moved south into southern Lewis and northern Oswego counties. It continued through the early morning hours of the 1st before finally moving south and weakening.

Buffalo received tremendous press coverage during and after the storm both nationally and internationally. Many counties were declared Federal Disaster areas as a result of the prodigious snow amounts. Snow clearing operations in the city of Buffalo in particular became monumental tasks. Standard plows could not move the snow. Streets and even most driveways could only be cleared by Bobcats and front end loaders that put the snow into trucks to be dumped elsewhere. Snow clearing costs were very expensive as a result of the time, equipment and manpower involved. As the week progressed, the weight from the fallen snow became too much to bear for many low sloped roofs, porches and carports. There were several reports carports collapsing and one person died when a carport fell on him in Cheektowaga.

This was truly an event of epoch proportion. Because the storm produced so much snow over a metro area, it has to be classed as a 5-flake (*****) event. It could have been much worse though. To begin with, the storm occurred during the Christmas holiday break. Schools were closed and many businesses were as well. This limited the number of people who could have become stranded during the event. In addition, temperatures were not extremely cold during the event. Daytime highs each day were at least in the 20s. Also, the wind was not a factor through much of the event. Those two factors kept the wind chill from becoming dangerously cold. Finally, the storm was well warned in advance and there were almost no cancellation of activities. This storm will go down in local history as one of the top five along with the Blizzard of ?77 and the November 20, 2000 lake effect event.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Snow Totals from our Spotters

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...HOLIDAY STORM FINAL SNOWFALL TOTALS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
400 PM EST TUE JAN 15 2002 
THE MASSIVE LAKE EFFECT SNOWSTORM OF DEC 24 THROUGH JAN 1 PRODUCED
UNPRECEDENTED SNOWFALL TOTALS ACROSS AREAS DOWNWIND OF LAKES ERIE
AND ONTARIO. WE HAVE NOW RECEIVED INFORMATION FROM MOST OF OUR
SNOWSPOTTER NETWORK AND THE FOLLOWING ARE REPRESENTATIVE AMOUNTS BY
COUNTY.

AMOUNTS ARE SNOWFALL FOR THE PERIOD DECEMBER 24 THROUGH JANUARY 1 
INCLUSIVE. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT MOST OF THIS SNOW HAS SETTLED AND
MELTED GRADUALLY DURING THE LAST TWO WEEKS WITH MOST AREAS HAVING
JUST A FEW INCHES OR LESS ON THE GROUND AT THIS WRITING.

...OFF LAKE ERIE...

...NIAGARA COUNTY...
.NORTH TONAWANDA... 40 INCHES
.PENDLETON......... 39 INCHES
.WHEATFIELD........ 31 INCHES
.MIDDLEPORT........ 26 INCHES
.NIAGARA FALLS..... 25 INCHES
.LOCKPORT.......... 24 INCHES
.LEWISTON.......... 14 INCHES
.YOUNGSTOWN........ 7 INCHES

...ERIE COUNTY...
.CHEEKTOWAGA (NWS). 81.6 INCHES
.WEST SENECA....... 72 INCHES
.LANCASTER......... 68 INCHES
.DEPEW............. 66 INCHES
.CLARENCE.......... 56 INCHES
.BUFFALO (SOUTH)... 63 INCHES
.BUFFALO (DOWNTOWN) 52 INCHES
.BUFFALO (NORTH)... 49 INCHES
.AMHERST (SNYDER).. 55 INCHES
.AMHERST (WMSVL)... 53 INCHES
.AMHERST (GETZVL).. 46 INCHES
.BOSTON............ 48 INCHES
.KENMORE........... 46 INCHES
.TONAWANDA (TOWN).. 45 INCHES
.EDEN.............. 43 INCHES
.ELMA.............. 43 INCHES
.GRAND ISLAND...... 40 INCHES
.EAST AURORA....... 38 INCHES
.COLDEN............ 37 INCHES
.HAMBURG........... 37 INCHES
.ORCHARD PARK...... 36 INCHES

...SOUTHERN ONTARIO CANADA...
.FORT ERIE......... 59 INCHES
.PORT COLBORNE..... 47 INCHES
.WELLAND........... 31 INCHES
.NIAGARA FALLS..... 24 INCHES
.VINELAND.......... 9 INCHES
.ST. CATHARINES.... 6 INCHES

...ORLEANS COUNTY...
.MEDINA............ 16 INCHES
.ALBION............ 12 INCHES
.LYNDONVILLE....... 10 INCHES

...GENESEE COUNTY...
.E. PEMBROKE....... 29 INCHES
.DARIEN............ 28 INCHES
.BATAVIA........... 16 INCHES
.ALEXANDER......... 14 INCHES
.PAVILION.......... 7 INCHES
.LEROY............. 6 INCHES

...WYOMING COUNTY...
.STRYKERSVILLE..... 49 INCHES
.WARSAW............ 31 INCHES
.ARCADE............ 30 INCHES
.BENNINGTON........ 29 INCHES
.PORTAGEVILLE...... 13 INCHES

...LIVINGSTON COUNTY...
.SPRINGWATER....... 10 INCHES
.MT. MORRIS........ 10 INCHES
.SCOTTSBURG........ 7 INCHES
.GENESEO........... 7 INCHES

...MONROE COUNTY...
.BROCKPORT......... 6 INCHES
.HAMLIN............ 5 INCHES
.ROCHESTER AP (NWS) 4 INCHES
.FAIRPORT.......... 4 INCHES
.CHILI............. 3 INCHES

...CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY...
.ARKWRIGHT......... 56 INCHES
.SHERMAN........... 48 INCHES
.SINCLAIRVILLE..... 30 INCHES
.FREDONIA.......... 28 INCHES
.ELLINGTON......... 25 INCHES
.DUNKIRK........... 22 INCHES
.SILVER CREEK...... 20 INCHES
.JAMESTOWN......... 13 INCHES

...CATTARAUGUS COUNTY...
.S. DAYTON......... 54 INCHES
.PERRYSBURG........ 51 INCHES
.YORKSHIRE......... 46 INCHES
.NEW ALBION........ 21 INCHES
.SALAMANCA......... 9 INCHES
.OLEAN............. 5 INCHES

...ALLEGANY COUNTY...
.RUSHFORD.......... 15 INCHES
.ANGELICA.......... 11 INCHES
.ALFRED............ 7 INCHES
.FRIENDSHIP........ 5 INCHES

...OFF LAKE ONTARIO...

...JEFFERSON COUNTY...
.CARTHAGE.......... 54 INCHES
.REDWOOD........... 46 INCHES
.MANNSVILLE........ 43 INCHES
.ALEXANDRIA BAY.... 36 INCHES
.WELLSLEY ISLAND... 31 INCHES
.WATERTOWN......... 30 INCHES
.CLAYTON........... 21 INCHES

...LEWIS COUNTY...
.MONTAGUE.......... 127 INCHES
.HIGHMARKET........ 104 INCHES
.N. OSCEOLA........ 86 INCHES
.HOOKER............ 64 INCHES
.BARNES CORNERS.... 62 INCHES
.LOWVILLE.......... 48 INCHES
.BRANTINGHAM....... 42 INCHES

...ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY...
.STAR LAKE......... 28 INCHES
.EDWARDS........... 17 INCHES
.RICHVILLE......... 14 INCHES

...OSWEGO COUNTY...
.LACONA............ 38 INCHES
.BENNETTS BRIDGE... 15 INCHES
.W. MONROE......... 12 INCHES
.PALERMO........... 7 INCHES
.OSWEGO............ 6 INCHES
.FULTON............ 4 INCHES

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANKS ALL OF OUR SNOWSPOTTERS FOR THEIR DEDICATION
IN PROVIDING THE ABOVE INFORMATION TO US. THIS WILL BE THE LAST
STATEMENT ON THIS EPIC HISTORICAL EVENT.


----------



## mole

Didn't we just talk about this the other day at bision. Holly cow it's like the movie ground hog day all over agian.  Im going to sleep now because I know I won't get any later.


----------



## PetalsandPines

*Errr.*



mole said:


> Didn't we just talk about this the other day at bision. Holly cow it's like the movie ground hog day all over agian.  Im going to sleep now because I know I won't get any later.


No sleep, Slushy Ice under a foot of snow, 1-2" per hour snowfall rates, Friday afternoon, Traffic, Christmas Shoppers, Ohh let the insanity begin.

Aren't you glad you got a backdrag??


----------



## mole

yeah I used it last night for the first time. I decided to go out and scrap all the ice and crud out of the drives so I wouldn't have to deal with it today under a ton of snow. so far so good. I saw the sun today. but it's getting to d ay time 2:38 and they say by three all heck is going to break loose. Figures we were supposed to go to a christmas get together with friends tonight for dinner and drinks. Looks like I won't be there. Also I broke a connection on my boss at bison the other night. the smart hitch wont work I had to push it up manually, then when i got it on I thought it wasn't going to work, but works fine so far. just have to go get another connection put on after everything settles down. good luck this weekend. this post will never die.


----------



## Got Grass?

Had to bump this thread back up...

5yrs ago....


----------



## jjtmarineb2

HOLY COW!! I don't know how I came across this but I just read it start to finish! That is some amazing stuff!


----------



## grandview

I remember that storm well. Everyday we got 1-2 feet of snow for 5 days straight! We stayed in the parking lots and just kept plowing never had more than 6 inches at one time. The only problem was the roads weren't plowed so people couldn't get to work because there was 4-5 feet of snow on them!


----------



## PetalsandPines

Oh what the heck.....Got to remind people what a real storm looked like... For the new guys that like to bash in the Chevy Forum.....That old ford that I ran in this storm outlasted an 04 8. Gasser and an 07 Chevy Duramax.


----------



## dlcs

I remember this thread quite well.


----------



## grandview

Lancaster 68 inches,minor accumulation for that week.


----------



## chrisby316

Love this thread


----------



## bizzo15

PetalsandPines;257893 said:


> As I watch the impending snowstorm develop for Buffalo Today, I wanted to find out how the "Big One" started a few years ago. Hey local guys..... The scenario today looks kinda similiar Lake snows developing over niagara county, low pressure in the upper lakes. Bands sinking southward over the city . 3 Day lake effect snow warning. HMMMMM??
> 
> LAKE EFFECT STORM "BALD EAGLE"
> 
> December 24, 2001- Jan 1, 2002
> 
> Flake Scale *****5 Stars
> 
> Maximum Snowfall: Lake Erie: Buffalo Airport 81.6" Lake Ontario: Montague 127"
> 
> Duration: 7 Days
> 
> Prime Feature: Longest lasting lake effect event on record. Record snowfalls, tremendous metropolitan impact. Not much wind. Temperatures not exceptionally cold.
> 
> After a record warm and nearly snowless November and December, western and central New York underwent one of the most significant and abrupt changes in the weather that has ever been recorded in this area. Almost no snow had been recorded in the region (1.6 inches at Buffalo) up until the days before Christmas, leaving everyone wondering if we would have a white Christmas at all.
> 
> By about December 22nd, forecasters began to see signs of a significant change in the large scale weather pattern across North America. Advanced computer models were showing a blocking pattern developing over Greenland at upper levels of the atmosphere, forcing an upper level, closed low to develop and strengthen over the Upper Great Lakes. Forecasters on the eastern Great Lakes are familiar with this synoptic pattern, because it is conducive to the heaviest lake effect snows in western and central New York.
> 
> The low was forecast to trap enough cold air from northern Canada to produce heavy lake snows. Even more alarming was the forecast that the upper low would move little, if any during the next week. This would produce more serious implications for the eastern lakes.
> 
> 1. The pattern would mean that an extended period of lake effect snow was likely, possible for an entire week.. 2. The wind direction would remain the same for a long time, which would result in a band staying over one particular region for days at a time.
> 
> Forecasters were alarmed and excited at the same time. This storm had the potential to produce tremendous amounts of snow, and because the winds were forecast to be generally from a southwest direction, Buffalo, NY looked like it was going to be hit hard.
> 
> The storm could really be broken into two parts. The first portion of the extended event occurred on December 24-25th and mainly affected areas downwind of Lake Erie including metro Buffalo. The second part of the event brought a second punch to areas downwind of Lake Erie, and pummelled the snowbelts of Lake Ontario between Watertown and Syracuse.
> 
> Part I - Lake Erie
> Multiple bands of lake snow developed well to the north over the Niagara peninsula during Monday (24th) morning and extended into Niagara and far northern Erie county into early afternoon and dropped up to 6". The activity consolidated into a single band during the mid afternoon and dropped slowly south across the metro area through the evening and diminished after midnight as it drifted south. The band was very intense during the evening with thunder and snowfall rates of 4" per hour. It hung near the airport longest.
> 
> Winds backed again on Christmas Day, the 25th, but the band was much weaker and pushed north across the area dropping another 1 to 3 inches before lifting way north by late Christmas evening. Some of this activity even reached Toronto Christmas night. The action pretty much shut off early Wednesday, but Part II of this epoch event was poised to develop later on Wednesday afternoon.
> 
> Amounts from Part I were in the range of 12 to 16 inches over a large portion of metro Buffalo and extended north to Grand Island and Lockport. Even Niagara Falls caught 8-10 inches. A small area of heaviest snow fell near the airport with 20-24 inches. The 25.2 inches was 3rd greatest 24 hour total ever at the Airport.
> 
> Part II - Lake Erie
> By Wednesday, the 26th, the snowband began to redevelop over the Niagara Peninsula of nearby southern Ontario. The Niagara Peninsula was clobbered by heavy snowfall through the day. Wednesday evening, the band began its trek south toward metro Buffalo once again, the second lethal blow hit the metro area with 8 inches of snow in a 6 hour period of time. The band continued to wiggle and dance as it moved very slowly south to the immediate southtowns during the night and produced snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches an hour over that region. By Thursday morning at 8AM the band had once again started north and through the next 6 to 7 hours heavy snow hit metro Buffalo again, the third lethal blow. In a 7 hour period of time about 18 inches of snow was recorded at the Buffalo airport. Then late in the afternoon the band decided to head south again and blasted the southtowns. The fourth and deciding blow occurred on the 28th, when in the wee hours of the morning the band struck once again. In the 6 hour period from 1AM to 7AM another 15.2 inches of snow fell, with another 7 inches occurring in a two hour period from 11AM to 1PM.
> 
> By the time the band headed south for the last time and bade farewell to Buffalo, 81.6 inches of snow had fallen at the airport and portions of the surrounding suburbs. The band had crossed the metro area no less than 6 times in a 5-day period of time! Our neighbors in southern Ontario reported as much as 60 inches of snow near Port Colborne.
> 
> Through the 29th and 31st a slight shift in the wind direction moved the snowband across the traditional snowbelts well south of Buffalo. Areas of southern Erie, Wyoming, northern Chautauqua and northern Cattaraugus counties saw over 5 feet of snow during the 3 day period of time. Ski areas were overjoyed!
> 
> The snow continued across the ski country through the morning of the 1st of January before a ridge aloft produced strong subsidence and the winds veered more to a NW direction.
> 
> Part I - Lake Ontario
> The first part of the event on the 24th and 25th was limited to St. Lawrence and extreme northern Jefferson counties because the winds were out of a SSW direction. The large scale weather pattern which included the cut-off low over the Upper Great Lakes was too far west of the eastern shores of Lake Ontario to provide well organized snowbands. In fact, the highest snowfall totals were highest across Chaumont in northern Jefferson county. However, the traditional snowbelts over the Tug Hill Plateau reported very little snow.
> 
> Part II - Lake Ontario
> During the night of the 26th and daytime hours of the 27th the snowband fired up again mainly across the northern parts of Jefferson county...north of Watertown. the snowband continued across the far northern portions of Jefferson county. Then on the 28th the band settled south across southern Jefferson and Lewis counties. Snowfall totals on the 28th were over 30 inches at Montague. Thunder and lightning were reported within the band that evening as snow fell at rates of 2 to 4 inches an hour. The winds remained out of generally a westerly direction...though small scale disturbances shifted the winds enough to make the band oscillate north and south across southern Jefferson and Lewis counties through the 30th, with Montague picking up another 4 feet of snow in a 24 hour period. By late on the afternoon of the 31st, the band narrowed and moved south into southern Lewis and northern Oswego counties. It continued through the early morning hours of the 1st before finally moving south and weakening.
> 
> Buffalo received tremendous press coverage during and after the storm both nationally and internationally. Many counties were declared Federal Disaster areas as a result of the prodigious snow amounts. Snow clearing operations in the city of Buffalo in particular became monumental tasks. Standard plows could not move the snow. Streets and even most driveways could only be cleared by Bobcats and front end loaders that put the snow into trucks to be dumped elsewhere. Snow clearing costs were very expensive as a result of the time, equipment and manpower involved. As the week progressed, the weight from the fallen snow became too much to bear for many low sloped roofs, porches and carports. There were several reports carports collapsing and one person died when a carport fell on him in Cheektowaga.
> 
> This was truly an event of epoch proportion. Because the storm produced so much snow over a metro area, it has to be classed as a 5-flake (*****) event. It could have been much worse though. To begin with, the storm occurred during the Christmas holiday break. Schools were closed and many businesses were as well. This limited the number of people who could have become stranded during the event. In addition, temperatures were not extremely cold during the event. Daytime highs each day were at least in the 20s. Also, the wind was not a factor through much of the event. Those two factors kept the wind chill from becoming dangerously cold. Finally, the storm was well warned in advance and there were almost no cancellation of activities. This storm will go down in local history as one of the top five along with the Blizzard of ?77 and the November 20, 2000 lake effect event.
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Final Snow Totals from our Spotters
> 
> PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...HOLIDAY STORM FINAL SNOWFALL TOTALS
> NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
> 400 PM EST TUE JAN 15 2002
> THE MASSIVE LAKE EFFECT SNOWSTORM OF DEC 24 THROUGH JAN 1 PRODUCED
> UNPRECEDENTED SNOWFALL TOTALS ACROSS AREAS DOWNWIND OF LAKES ERIE
> AND ONTARIO. WE HAVE NOW RECEIVED INFORMATION FROM MOST OF OUR
> SNOWSPOTTER NETWORK AND THE FOLLOWING ARE REPRESENTATIVE AMOUNTS BY
> COUNTY.
> 
> AMOUNTS ARE SNOWFALL FOR THE PERIOD DECEMBER 24 THROUGH JANUARY 1
> INCLUSIVE. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT MOST OF THIS SNOW HAS SETTLED AND
> MELTED GRADUALLY DURING THE LAST TWO WEEKS WITH MOST AREAS HAVING
> JUST A FEW INCHES OR LESS ON THE GROUND AT THIS WRITING.
> 
> ...OFF LAKE ERIE...
> 
> ...NIAGARA COUNTY...
> .NORTH TONAWANDA... 40 INCHES
> .PENDLETON......... 39 INCHES
> .WHEATFIELD........ 31 INCHES
> .MIDDLEPORT........ 26 INCHES
> .NIAGARA FALLS..... 25 INCHES
> .LOCKPORT.......... 24 INCHES
> .LEWISTON.......... 14 INCHES
> .YOUNGSTOWN........ 7 INCHES
> 
> ...ERIE COUNTY...
> .CHEEKTOWAGA (NWS). 81.6 INCHES
> .WEST SENECA....... 72 INCHES
> .LANCASTER......... 68 INCHES
> .DEPEW............. 66 INCHES
> .CLARENCE.......... 56 INCHES
> .BUFFALO (SOUTH)... 63 INCHES
> .BUFFALO (DOWNTOWN) 52 INCHES
> .BUFFALO (NORTH)... 49 INCHES
> .AMHERST (SNYDER).. 55 INCHES
> .AMHERST (WMSVL)... 53 INCHES
> .AMHERST (GETZVL).. 46 INCHES
> .BOSTON............ 48 INCHES
> .KENMORE........... 46 INCHES
> .TONAWANDA (TOWN).. 45 INCHES
> .EDEN.............. 43 INCHES
> .ELMA.............. 43 INCHES
> .GRAND ISLAND...... 40 INCHES
> .EAST AURORA....... 38 INCHES
> .COLDEN............ 37 INCHES
> .HAMBURG........... 37 INCHES
> .ORCHARD PARK...... 36 INCHES
> 
> ...SOUTHERN ONTARIO CANADA...
> .FORT ERIE......... 59 INCHES
> .PORT COLBORNE..... 47 INCHES
> .WELLAND........... 31 INCHES
> .NIAGARA FALLS..... 24 INCHES
> .VINELAND.......... 9 INCHES
> .ST. CATHARINES.... 6 INCHES
> 
> ...ORLEANS COUNTY...
> .MEDINA............ 16 INCHES
> .ALBION............ 12 INCHES
> .LYNDONVILLE....... 10 INCHES
> 
> ...GENESEE COUNTY...
> .E. PEMBROKE....... 29 INCHES
> .DARIEN............ 28 INCHES
> .BATAVIA........... 16 INCHES
> .ALEXANDER......... 14 INCHES
> .PAVILION.......... 7 INCHES
> .LEROY............. 6 INCHES
> 
> ...WYOMING COUNTY...
> .STRYKERSVILLE..... 49 INCHES
> .WARSAW............ 31 INCHES
> .ARCADE............ 30 INCHES
> .BENNINGTON........ 29 INCHES
> .PORTAGEVILLE...... 13 INCHES
> 
> ...LIVINGSTON COUNTY...
> .SPRINGWATER....... 10 INCHES
> .MT. MORRIS........ 10 INCHES
> .SCOTTSBURG........ 7 INCHES
> .GENESEO........... 7 INCHES
> 
> ...MONROE COUNTY...
> .BROCKPORT......... 6 INCHES
> .HAMLIN............ 5 INCHES
> .ROCHESTER AP (NWS) 4 INCHES
> .FAIRPORT.......... 4 INCHES
> .CHILI............. 3 INCHES
> 
> ...CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY...
> .ARKWRIGHT......... 56 INCHES
> .SHERMAN........... 48 INCHES
> .SINCLAIRVILLE..... 30 INCHES
> .FREDONIA.......... 28 INCHES
> .ELLINGTON......... 25 INCHES
> .DUNKIRK........... 22 INCHES
> .SILVER CREEK...... 20 INCHES
> .JAMESTOWN......... 13 INCHES
> 
> ...CATTARAUGUS COUNTY...
> .S. DAYTON......... 54 INCHES
> .PERRYSBURG........ 51 INCHES
> .YORKSHIRE......... 46 INCHES
> .NEW ALBION........ 21 INCHES
> .SALAMANCA......... 9 INCHES
> .OLEAN............. 5 INCHES
> 
> ...ALLEGANY COUNTY...
> .RUSHFORD.......... 15 INCHES
> .ANGELICA.......... 11 INCHES
> .ALFRED............ 7 INCHES
> .FRIENDSHIP........ 5 INCHES
> 
> ...OFF LAKE ONTARIO...
> 
> ...JEFFERSON COUNTY...
> .CARTHAGE.......... 54 INCHES
> .REDWOOD........... 46 INCHES
> .MANNSVILLE........ 43 INCHES
> .ALEXANDRIA BAY.... 36 INCHES
> .WELLSLEY ISLAND... 31 INCHES
> .WATERTOWN......... 30 INCHES
> .CLAYTON........... 21 INCHES
> 
> ...LEWIS COUNTY...
> .MONTAGUE.......... 127 INCHES
> .HIGHMARKET........ 104 INCHES
> .N. OSCEOLA........ 86 INCHES
> .HOOKER............ 64 INCHES
> .BARNES CORNERS.... 62 INCHES
> .LOWVILLE.......... 48 INCHES
> .BRANTINGHAM....... 42 INCHES
> 
> ...ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY...
> .STAR LAKE......... 28 INCHES
> .EDWARDS........... 17 INCHES
> .RICHVILLE......... 14 INCHES
> 
> ...OSWEGO COUNTY...
> .LACONA............ 38 INCHES
> .BENNETTS BRIDGE... 15 INCHES
> .W. MONROE......... 12 INCHES
> .PALERMO........... 7 INCHES
> .OSWEGO............ 6 INCHES
> .FULTON............ 4 INCHES
> 
> WE WOULD LIKE TO THANKS ALL OF OUR SNOWSPOTTERS FOR THEIR DEDICATION
> IN PROVIDING THE ABOVE INFORMATION TO US. THIS WILL BE THE LAST
> STATEMENT ON THIS EPIC HISTORICAL EVENT.


P&P where did you get all that info from??


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## ADLAWNCUTTERS

I live it i remember the blizzard of 77. I plowed the blizzard of 85,96,2000,2201, .I was so busy for those storms i didn't't have time to even go on the Internet. i should have taken photo's..I remember pulling into lots with a f350 with the vee blade up and plowing snow.That was one of the few times we put Wait in back of the trucks. We would go to a lot with two or three trucks.When one truck got stuck the others would pull them out..I have to admit those stores gave me a few gray hairs. We just pressed on that's all we could do at the time.I was plowing a lot and it was snowing heavy and it was lighting and thunder at the same time. Then i knew i was in for some night soil.....


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## jklawn&Plow

I remember that storm. I sat in my truck, 1500 stuck on the thruway 90 coming back from Rochester all night staring at the MightyTaco sign in front of Lancaster Speedway.


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## finnegan

this post needs a BUMP!


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## weekendwrench

Makes me wonder what wee in store for this year, and reminds me I have to buy tires.


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## finnegan

just put new tires on and dragged the plow out of storage


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## grandview

2 years ago with that 40 inches over night was fun ,so was the Oct 06 storm.


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## Pushin4U

Never seen this post till just now. Read every single page and holy smokes... that is a lot of snow. We all complain about not getting any snow and they were probably praying that it stopped soon


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## nms0219

ha ha new tires... I just bought a new truck


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## KYsnow

WOW!! For Kentucky that 1 storm dump a decades worth of snow!


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## PetalsandPines

ahhh the good old days


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## nms0219

So everybody ready for the "big" storm tonight? Saying 8-16"...


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## dfd9

That's hopefully a once in a lifetime storm for everyone. 

I can remember that week all too well.


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## grandview

PetalsandPines;1547742 said:


> ahhh the good old days


Lets keep it in the olde days too!


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## Earthscapes

I'd be happy with 12-16" tonight (Easy Grandy LOL) 
I have a plan in place & if that blows up, its on to plan B. 

The sleds are fueled up & ready go. Would be nice to ride from here instead of traveling down to the cabin tomorrow afternoon.


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## grandview

You should always keep plan B in the nightstand drawer.


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## 1olddogtwo

grandview;1547960 said:


> Lets keep it in the olde days too!


sounds like someone is losing money tonight


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## grandview

1olddogtwo;1548402 said:


> sounds like someone is losing money tonight


Minor 12 inches of snow.


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## 1olddogtwo

grandview;1548405 said:


> Minor 12 inches of snow.


The entire Chicago group would pay you for that!!!!!!

Good luck, have fun!!!!!!


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## grandview

From my bedroom window ,it looks like about 6-8 are on the ground now.


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## OC&D

Thanks for digging up this thread. If I ever see that around here, I'm going to turn off my phone and pour a drink.


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## Earthscapes

LOL

Just started truck, snow is drifted 4' high between wifes car & my truck. 
Be safe out there its gunna be fun !!!!!!!


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## dfd9

OC&D;1548598 said:


> Thanks for digging up this thread. If I ever see that around here, I'm going to turn off my phone and pour a drink.


Most intelligent post in this thread.


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