![]() The Pacific Northwest, located under the strong ridge, experienced unprecedented drought, with all 29 climatic divisions of Washington, Oregon and Idaho experiencing their driest October to February period on record. In contrast, Alaska was exceptionally mild: Anchorage averaged 20.2 ☏ or 11.2 ☌ above normal and was in fact 2.5 ☏ or 1.4 ☌ warmer for the month than Atlanta half the distance from the equator, whilst it was the warmest January since at least 1937 for the whole state except the North Slope and the Aleutian Islands. The severe winter was not limited to the northeastern United States snow was observed in Miami, Florida, on January 20, and snow mixed with rain occurred in the Bahamas. The circulation helped cause record cold for the winter over many portions of the eastern United States, with the Ohio Valley averaging more than 8 ☏ (4 ☌) below normal. ![]() Strong northwest flow between the ridge and the trough resulted in a strong northwest flow in between, which ushered Arctic air into the central and eastern United States. Ī strong blocking high developed over the Arctic Ocean during January, and this moved the polar vortex to southern Canada, south of its normal location. In January 1977, this pattern persisted, with the pressure of the strong ridge over western North America being more than two standard deviations from the mean, while the strong trough centered over eastern North America was more than three standard deviations from the mean. A high-amplitude planetary wave pattern set up, which was very persistent from October 1976 through January 1977, and involved a ridge over western North America and a trough over eastern North America. Weather conditions during the months leading up to the blizzard contributed to the disastrous storm. Coupled with the existing snow cover and wind, this had a similar effect. Lake Ontario rarely freezes over, which meant northern New York had to deal with considerable lake-effect snow. The combination of bitter cold, high winds, and blowing snow paralyzed areas affected by the storm. In Western New York and Southern Ontario's Niagara Peninsula, snow which was accumulated on frozen Lake Erie and snow on the ground at the start of the blizzard provided ample material for the high winds to blow into huge drifts. In the hardest-struck areas, snowmobiles became the only viable method of transportation. In addition to the roads becoming impassable, motorists had to deal with vehicles breaking down due to the combination of very cold temperatures, very high winds and blowing snow. The drifted snow on roadways was difficult to clear because the strong wind packed the snow solidly. Lake Erie was covered by a deep, powdery snow January's unusually cold conditions limited the usual thawing and refreezing, so the snow on the frozen lake remained powdery. Lake Erie froze over by Decemwhen that happens, lake-effect snow does not occur because the wind cannot pick up moisture from the lake's surface, convert the moisture to snow, and then dump it when the winds reach shore. November, December and January average temperatures were much below normal. ![]() Ĭertain pre-existing weather conditions exacerbated the blizzard's effects. There were 23 total storm-related deaths in Western New York, with five more in northern New York. Daily peak wind gusts ranging from 46 to 69 mph (74 to 111 km/h) were recorded by the National Weather Service in Buffalo, with snowfall as high as 100 in (254 cm) recorded in areas, and the high winds blew this into drifts of 30 to 40 ft (9 to 12 m). The blizzard of 1977 hit Western New York and Southern Ontario from January 28 to February 1. 81 inches, according to the Weather Service.Ĭontact Victoria Freile at Follow her on Twitter and Instagram This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.A house almost completely buried in snow in Tonawanda, New York (January 30, 1977) 17 and 1.15 inches of precipitation was measured at the airport, breaking the 2017 record of. Here are some snow totals reported from other locations throughout the greater Rochester region:Īlso, Rochester set two daily records on Monday: Snow from the storm, 10.4 inches of which fell on Monday, set a new daily snowfall record, surpassing the 1958 record of 9.5 inches for Jan. The airport, said Weather Service Meteorologist Jon Hitchcock, had more sleet than some northern communities in Monroe County, which kept Rochester's snow total lower than some other parts of the county. In addition, less than a half inch of lake effect snow fell overnight at the airport early Tuesday morning.
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