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NOAA Magazine || NOAA Home Page MOUNTAINS OF SNOW IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK
NOAA's National Weather Service Forecast Office in Buffalo has been working around the clock to issue the latest forecasts. Residents of the area had a 20-hour lead time warning that the system would produce heavy amounts of snow. NOAA forecasters issued a statement on the storm as early as three days in advance. As of 7 a.m. Friday, there were a total of 44 inches on the ground, which is an all-time record. Tom Niziol, the science and operations officer at NOAA's National Weather Service Forecast Office in Buffalo, said "This is the mother of all lake effect snows. It's like putting a hose in Lake Erie and sweeping the region with lots of snow." NOAA forecasters are working long hours in order to keep issuing the latest advisories, watches and warnings. So far no one has had to sleep at the weather service office, but just like everyone else in the Buffalo area NOAA staff have had great difficulties getting to and from the office. The latest technology has allowed NOAA forecasters to stay ahead of the storm by running various forecast models right on the premises. The benchmark used by forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Buffalo is the Blizzard of 1977, which was characterized by heavy snowfall, 42 inches on the ground, as well as very strong winds. Those winds produced intense wind chills. The current snow storm has the heavy snowfall associated with it but does not have strong winds—yet. Niziol says it would be an "much, much worse if this current storm had strong winds." Snowfall Totals as of noon Friday, Dec. 28, 2001 December 2001 Month-to-Date:
77.3, a new record. The previous record was 68.4 inches set during
Dec. 1985-1986. Relevant Web Sites
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