In late January 1977, New York State neurobiological science was challenged by meteorology with an unusual blizzard or ground blizzard, which used sustained winds of hurricane speed (69 mph) to move ice from Lake Erie to Buffalo. Generally, when it snows, the snow deposited on the ground is carried by clouds from the sky. In this case, the wind helped produce a maximum snowfall of 45 feet or more in Buffalo and produce whiteouts or zero visibility in Buffalo. This event demonstrated that it was possible for a blizzard to occur without adding new snowflakes to the snow accumulation on the ground because there was already a significant amount of snow present. By demonstrating that snowfall can occur as a result of using powerful winds to transport previously fallen or formed ice particles, this event further demonstrated that weathering is not necessarily dependent on new material, but rather solely on moving materials already present in the environment.
How New York State Disappeared Under the Snow That Never Fell from the Clouds
The winter storm of 1977 in Buffalo, New York, resulted from an unusual type of weather phenomenon known as a ‘ground blizzard’; A weather system in which strong winds are responsible for the transport of snow that is already on the ground, rather than atmospheric precipitation.Even before January 28, a record amount of snow had fallen in Buffalo. Because Lake Erie was frozen and covered with thick, loose powder, when an Arctic cold front arrived, high-speed winds of over 75 mph blew through the lake, resulting in large amounts of snow being blown into the city of Buffalo, creating ice.The storm produced snowfall that was not caused by precipitation, as the weather was mostly clear and no precipitation was falling. Otherwise, large amounts of blowing snow may be composed only of recycled ice crystals, therefore, producing a weather phenomenon that cannot be detected by conventional weather satellite precipitation sensors.
Why didn’t the frozen surface stop the storm?
While most lake-effect blizzards occur when there is open water and conditions allow sufficient moisture in the form of clouds, the 1977 event occurred when the entire lake surface was covered with ice. According to NOAA, the ice remaining on the lake was very light and dry as a result of the snowpack inherited from last month’s long cold snap. Meteorological wind speeds, which were different from normal, and extremely low temperatures created the conditions necessary to produce zero visibility conditions for extended periods. The situation left 17,000 people trapped inside their cars and their workplaces throughout Western New York and Southern Ontario.
How the Army Corps Reopened Buffalo
The wind not only blew the snow away, it also compressed the snow into a hard, concrete-like substance. The high wind speed also compacted individual ice crystals, causing snow to rise more than 30 feet high, so was very heavy and not able to be removed with normal plowing equipment. President Jimmy Carter issued his first federal declaration of ’emergency’ as a result of the blizzard and initiated ‘Operation Snow Go’. Heavy industrial loaders and trenching machines were dispatched by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Guard to build roads through the snow.