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Just after 11 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service in Buffalo issued a special statement, warning of a band of heavy snow accompanied by high winds, creating a "burst of snow" in western New York state.

By Sunday morning, winds shifted more westerly, meaning the heaviest lake-effect snow bands moved south of Buffalo impacting areas from Cleveland to Dunkirk, New York. Buffalo was no longer under a lake-effect snow warning but remained under a winter weather advisory through Sunday evening for "blowing snow."

While the Buffalo area is used to dealing with heavy snowfall, this storm is delivering "much more than we usually get," Mayor Byron Brown told CNN on Saturday. Continue scrolling to check out the images we at Bored Panda gathered to show just how extreme the situation looks.

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    Buffalo local and Twitter user Alexandra (@eustace225) is one of the people whose picture we featured to illustrate the snowfall. She shared her dog's reaction to it and its expression was so funny, we just had to include it.

    "The weather this time of year is usually just cold with maybe some dustings of snow," Alexandra told Bored Panda. "[But] this past weekend was very overwhelming, we broke New York State records with snowfall. We had about 4 and a half feet, personally."

    That's right. Erie County, which includes Buffalo, experienced its largest-ever amount of snowfall in a 24-hour period Saturday, according to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

    “This was a RECORD-BREAKING storm that in some ways was more intense than Snowvember, the relatively quick recovery is a testament to everyone’s preparation and planning,” Poloncarz tweeted. “The proactive approach continues to work.”

    Alexandra agrees that the local authorities actually handled things very well. "They closed schools and shut down roads and interstates early Thursday before it all started. Declared a state of emergency early and brought in outside help. I think they learned a lot from the storm in 2014."

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    #5

    Snow-Buffalo-New-York-2022

    BCFDL734 Report

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    Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The USA really needs to invest more money in disaster relief. The way things are going, we can expect some major climate catastrophe almost every year.

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    The “Snowvember” that Alexandra and Poloncarz referred to was a storm in the Buffalo area in November 2014, when almost 7 feet of snow was dumped in just three days. That storm had taken the lives of at least 13 people and the weight of the snow caused dozens of roofs to crumble under the impact.

    So far, this storm has taken 2 casualties, who collapsed from cardiac complications related to shoveling snow and attempting to clear the ground, Poloncarz said.

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    An observation site near Orchard Park, where the NFL’s Buffalo Bills play, recorded a snow total of 80 inches since Thursday, making it the third-highest three-day total ever in the state of New York.

    As you can see from the pictures, the multiday weather event has made travel in the region difficult, triggering the closing of roads, driving bans, and flight cancellations the weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday.

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    #11

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    Kjwhalen77 Report

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    Aisling Raye
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A good servant knows to appropriately attend to the needs of their god. This human will live another day.

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    Travel bans were in effect for much of Erie County, but as of Sunday morning, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted that many roads in Buffalo and Watertown have been able to reopen, and “traffic is starting to move again!”

    Nearly 400 citations have been issued to drivers who were violating travel bans in the region, Poloncarz, the Erie County executive, said.

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    “If you’re trying to enter an area where a travel ban exists, you will meet a friendly neighborhood New York State trooper who will immediately give you a ticket for violating the travel ban,” Poloncarz said.

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    #19

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    weather_buffalo Report

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    Leo Domitrix
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Memories. Ah, memories. I'm 5-10. We have pics of me in snow to my chin when I was a mere 5-8. ( In metric, 1.73 meters tall at five-foot-eight-inches.) And, to be honest, the snow kept the wind off you, so it was kinda better than no-snow-and-wind.

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    While officials earlier said some vehicles had to be towed after being stuck on the side of the road or involved in accidents, Hochul thanked New Yorkers who adhered to travel advisories and stayed home: "Thank you for just following the directions, staying off the roads, and as a result, all the major thoroughfares are open now in western New York and the north country, with some limitation."

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    Air travel also has been challenged by the record snow, with dozens of flights arriving and departing from Buffalo Niagara International Airport canceled as conditions worsened, according to the airport’s website.

    The airport set a daily snowfall record of 21.5 inches Saturday, shattering the previous daily record of 7.6 inches set in 2014. It ranks as the fifth-highest single-day snowfall total on record for Buffalo and the second-highest single-day snowfall total for the month of November.

    #26

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    Rick Seiden
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Can confirm. I live in the Northtowns of the Buffalo area. Less than 5-6 inches. My coworker who is down by the stadium had over 3 feet and it was still coming down last I talked to him. Plus, he lost power.

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    #27

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    celebratingcher Report

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    Chancey
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Look more like pink and purple than Bills colors but still very pretty.

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    #29

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    Leo Domitrix
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As a native of the Up North, I love thepics people get of the systems/cells moving through. You can be fine and then, boom! Whiteout! (Which we sang to the tune of Wipeout, the old surf song.)

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    Brown, the Buffalo mayor, said the city could return to “some sense of normalcy” by Monday or Tuesday, assuming the worst of the storm had passed through Sunday.

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    "This has been a very unpredictable storm with the snow bands moving, back and forth, north to south," Brown noted. "The snow has come down very fast, very wet, very heavy."

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    #34

    Snow-Buffalo-New-York-2022

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    Juliette Deroulede
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What is he doing? Did he get caught outside when it started snowing? Cause I don't see any tracks 😳

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    #38

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    JoyfulZebra
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    🎶 Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we've no place to go, please dear God stop letting it snow!🎶

    #42

    One Hour Of Snow In Buffalo

    One hour of snow in Buffalo

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    Minath
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I feel sorry for the kids, before the pandemic they would get snow days, now they still have school.

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    #44

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    #45

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    tHeBoRdEsTpAnDa
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That would be so fun ngl (rolling off the roof not shoveling the snow)

    #47

    Snow-Buffalo-New-York-2022

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    JenniB
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The funny part is, some of us living in this climate actually love snow storms (as long as we are safe at home). I'll take snow over rain any day!

    #49

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    #53

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    JenniB
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I live in Canada about an hour from Buffalo and I have driven across a very dry snow free border many times into a blizzard on the US side. The good part is, Buffalo snow removal is quick and efficient.

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    #54

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    Oskar vanZandt
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I once flew on Christmas Day in the early 1990's... they had to de-ice the wings before we took off from Lester B. Pearson in Toronto.

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    #55

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    #56

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    Amanda B Bench
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'd LOVE to have this in TN! As long as I have power and groceries I'm perfectly happy being trapped at home, lol

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    #60

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    Karen Klinck Klinck
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And don't drink that stuff until you're done shovelling and are sitting back in the house, warm and dry.

    #61

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    #62

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    #67

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    TKA
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I thought this was the picture of the guy who rolled off his roof 😂

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    #68

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    #69

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    #71

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    Karen Klinck Klinck
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For the uninitiated, 'lake effect' is the original band of moisture coming in, which picks up more moisture and speed from the lake, joins with the prevailing wind and dumps it on the designated shore. (That would be us.) Ice on the lake limits how much water the snow/rain band can pick up, and how far inland the resulting mess will travel.

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    #72

    Snow-Buffalo-New-York-2022

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    Amanda B Bench
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I read in an earlier post that Orchard Park got 77" in 24 hours, breaking the US history record...?

    #73

    Snow-Buffalo-New-York-2022

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    #74

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    #77

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    #79

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    Cold Eagle
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Would it have helped if the loader used his er bucket (at rear) to add something to brace? Or would it not have had enough clearence? Or would the winch not permit it to be use that way? I don't know anything about the vehicle so just curious

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    #80

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    Ent Hugger
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    grab a book and some tea and enjoy! used to wish for snow days... now i wish for the state to close the roads 'cause it's the only way work shuts down lol... doesn't happen nearly as often as i'd like :( could look like the planet hoth outside and they're all "oh we salted the roads last night, you'll be fine!"

    #81

    Snow-Buffalo-New-York-2022

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    #83

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    Karen Klinck Klinck
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nuthin' historic about this storm. This time they took action before it, not after.

    #84

    Snow-Buffalo-New-York-2022

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    #85

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    #86

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    #89

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    Debby Keir
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wales????? Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch more like.

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