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Posted (edited)

IF you’ve never been IN a Lake Effect snow, you really don’t know anything about it.

 

Being that it’s normally an elongated but skinny rectangle,you can sometimes box it out. That is, when I-90 was once closed down from Batavia to the Pa border, I tried getting home to Toronto by heading North to the Lake and West through Lewiston. It worked.

 

The point being, that I went AROUND it, not that where it was- say Orchard Park, wasn’t a living, snow bomb hell!

 

The other time, I was driving down I-81 to Pa for Christmas from Watertown with my 9 month old baby and wife.I knew nada about ‘Lake Effects’. I crossed the border where there had been NO snow the night before. I intended to fill my gas tank up. Immediately noticed a lot of fresh fallen snow.

And then… it started. 
 

The next 2 exits off 81 were already blocked. I literally could not see the forest on the other side of the highway. We resorted to a contrived, slow dance via 1 half assed useable middle of the road lane. Flashers on, we would all stop every 15 minutes to snap the wipers, it was falling so fast. It was very cold, as well.

 

There was nobody to help us. No road crews, no cops, only the immediate strangers in front and behind! I was ***** scared, watching the gauge edge towards ‘E’. And hearing ‘Falalalala’… “less than an inch in Syracuse… all is well” on the radio. 🙄

 

Finally, we made it through and gassed up North of 90 somewhere. I said my prayers and had a sore neck for days,for the hours of squinting 1 inch away from the windshield.

 

People have no idea if they haven’t lived through one! 
NONE!

Edited by Billsatlastin2018
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  • Agree 1
Posted

I get the lake effect snow thing as I live outside of Niagara Falls Ontario. Seeing pictures of other parts of Buffalo not get hit as bad makes me question putting a stadium in Orchard Park was the best idea. 

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Posted

I have a simple and surprisingly quite effective of explaining Lake Effect Snow to people here in South Florida. Down here, especially in the summer we can have a situation where one area can have torrential downpours while the sun is shining less than a mile away as the rain bands come off the ocean. I used to live north of Syracuse and can remember many times driving home from work in bright sunshine and when I get past the Cicero exit of I-81 it was whiteout with heavy snow. When I explain it that way to the locals, they seem to understand.

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Posted
3 hours ago, JaCrispy said:

No…there are people dying around the world…explaining lake effect snow in western NY is not that big a deal…👍

 

 

 

Won't someone think of the children?!?
 

Posted
20 minutes ago, FTLBillsfan said:

I have a simple and surprisingly quite effective of explaining Lake Effect Snow to people here in South Florida. Down here, especially in the summer we can have a situation where one area can have torrential downpours while the sun is shining less than a mile away as the rain bands come off the ocean. I used to live north of Syracuse and can remember many times driving home from work in bright sunshine and when I get past the Cicero exit of I-81 it was whiteout with heavy snow. When I explain it that way to the locals, they seem to understand.

 

Years ago, when I lived in Pulaski but worked in Syracuse, driving home I was coming up on the Central Square exit.  At the bridge going over 81, it looked like a white curtain.  I'd see the cars in front of me go under the bridge and disappear, couldn't even see their lights, that's how dense it was in just a few feet.  

 

 

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Posted
1 hour ago, Billsatlastin2018 said:

People have no idea if they haven’t lived through one! 
NONE!

This.

 

I live near Watertown, and have had to make the sojourn through Ontario lake effect on 81 too many times to recall on the way to Syracuse Airport.

 

You might THINK you know how to drive in snow, but until you've gone through whiteout effects on the lee of Erie or Ontario...well, you don't.  Nothing can prepare you for that.

  • Agree 3
Posted
2 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

I get more frustrated explaining that the state of New York  isn't just some large state with skyscrapers and huge amounts of traffic in every town and that there are things like farmland and trees.

 

I wish we could concede NYC and Lon G'island to NJ or Connecticut.

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Posted
5 hours ago, oldmanfan said:

I’m more surprised by how many native WNYers don’t get it

 

That does surprise me, actually.

 

I grew up in Tonawanda/North Amherst.  We understood very clearly that when we were hearing on the TV about "Lake effect snow",  we would probably only get a few inches and would have school the next day.

Posted
6 hours ago, transplantbillsfan said:

Grew up in Webster, NY. I was 5 minute bike riding distance from Lake Ontario.

 

Lake Effect snow is no joke.

 

Now I live in Hawai'i for a reason 😎

 

No offense but I would rather have lake affect snow than oozing lava

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