The folks who were great during this time were the many snowmobile owners. They pitched in and were doing all kinds of things for folks. Many delivered groceries to the elderly and picked up prescriptions. They even assisted stranded motorists. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for those folks and all that they did.
I remember seeing a snowmobile going down Bailey Ave. near Walden. My sisters and I had gone to a nearby store for groceries, which we had to haul home on a small sled!
I was in the field at Ft Drum doing, oddly enough, winter warfare training. The temp one night fell to -54 F so the exercise was ended. My unit then was tasked to conduct health and welfare visits to outlying farms and homes, rendering assistance as needed. On skis, because that was the only way to get around after the few plowed roads. So much for climate change.
I was there - the pictures don't do it justice. I will never forget walking over cars burried in snowdrifts, and the visibility so bad you couldn't see your hand in front of your face - REALLY!
I remember this well! I was in 7th or 8th grade. I remember how weird it felt to walk down the middle of Niagara Falls Blvd. & there being not a single car.
I was there, too. I worked at a hospital and we HAD to come in. So, one person somehow got a car out and we all loaded in. You can't close a hospital. The houses were covered, many people were stranded all over the place. I made banana breads and brought them to nearby churches (I walked through all that snow, but they needed food). It was pretty amazing. Buffalo always gets lots of snow, but this fell so quickly and so much, that they couldn't keep up with it. It's called "Lake Effect" snow. Eventually, they had no other places to put the snow, so the National Guard was called in and they carried snow in railroad cars to down south for it to melt. It was pretty amazing. Once in a lifetime event.
My Dad has a chapter in the book. He was one of many that Erno Rossi interviewed. I was a young therapist at the VA at the time and watched that black wall come in from my clinic window. Got home six days later only because as a healthcare worker I had driving privileges once the streets became somewhat passable. My cousin volunteered with his snowmobile delivering food and medicine.
I lived in Niagara Falls and went to college at ECC when this happened. What memories! Thanks for posting. Especially enjoyed the WKBW news. I've recently moved from WNY/Finger Lakes area to Tennessee. Schools were closed here 2 weeks ago because we had 1" (that's one inch...not one foot) of snow...wimps! I told my neighbor the other day that we are enjoying the mild Tennessee winter. He said "Mild?, this is the worst winter we've had in a long time!". It has snowed here 2 times this winter, one inch each time. If that is bad for this area, it was worth moving here just for that reason
I remember a cartoon my gramma sent me from her Florida newspaper. In it was a blank white space except for a little gray area showing the shadow of a plane. Caption: Meanwhile in western New York, the search for Buffalo continues.
Middle daughter born Jan 30. Fire company sent plow, fire truck (???), pick up truck ( ???) and an ambulance. (yes!!) neighbors watched me leave from their front windows. Thanks. Lotsa memories.
I was 6 years old at the time and grew up in Syracuse. I still remember waking up in my bedroom and not being able to look out the window from all the snow..on the second floor lol. I have become wise in my old age and have moved to Arizona....
Great video! My dad would always tell me stories about the Bilzzard of '77 but he only had two or three pictures from it (one had snow reaching his 2nd story window). I now feel bad complaining about snow, my generation has NOTHING on this!
During the height of the blizzard, I strapped on a pair of small plastic children's skis and slid from Amherst to Kensington-Bailey to my girlfriend's house! Those were the days!
I was 7 years old. We got stopped at the PA state line because roads were closing. My Dad had the sense of mind to drive straight to a HoJo's. We were stranded there for three days!
i was 13 when this happened and i remember our whole back yard being encased in ice and i couldn't be happier. I know that sounds crazy to be happy but i remember my mother telling me there would be no school. i was so happy because i was being bullied by a piece of garbage called Karen Fagin. Funny how at the age of 58 you still remember those things. I was just so happy i didn't have to go to school. Thank God for ice storms.
I was there and remember was stuck in East Aurora NY, and was able to get food and milk to my family in Cowlesville by snow mobile a few days later. Will never forget it.
Great pics - bring back memories of being snowed in at work at Globe Albany for 4 days. The roof of the Niag.Frontier Food Terminal blew off. The wind shook our building all night - we slept in rooms without windows for safety. It was quite an experience! The day it started coworkers set out for lunch on Fri; took hours to get back - it went from sunny to zero visibility in a matter of minutes. I got home Tues. by a circuitous route to find open roads - had to go cross town and haled part way.
I was a senior in high school and we have blizzard pictures in our yearbook. The snow drifts were so high that you could walk from the ground to the roof of our house. We had a little miniature Dachshund and trying to take her outside to do her business was a real challenge!
My family still talks about this blizzard. They lived in Lockport at the time; my mom was pregnant with me. We moved to Florida in the 80s, but have spent several snowy Christmases in Lockport since then, and I have never seen anything like this! I never even imagined! Thanks for putting this together!
The pictures, in this presentation are just unbelievable. I've lived, in New England all my life; and I experienced our biggest ever snowstorm, the Blizzard of '78. That was a huge weather event for us; but I have never seen snowdrifts like the ones, in this report. Living with those lake effect snows must be a real adventure.
I was there....27 years old and later in that winter, got pneumonia....recovered but got a serious case of FTS (F_this S_) and moved to Houston. Never looked back. Southern women, shrimp boils, brisket and long necks....damn, I pissed away 1/3 of my life freezing my nads off....so WHY am I living life at double speed??? Gotta catch up to where I SHOULD have been!!!
Thank you for making and posting this video! I was 12 and living in West Seneca during the blizzard. My father was able to get home from work just before the roads closed in. Our house was buried, so when Dad went up on the roof to clear off some snow, we went up with him and sledded right into the back yard. Walls of snow along the driveway got so high we used a wheelbarrow to move it out in the yard. Thanks to your video, my 11-year-old can see how it compares to the MD blizzard of 2010.
This was my first winter back in Buffalo after being away in the Marine Corps for 4 years. When we thawed out in the spring I loaded the wife and kids in the old VW Buss and headed west to Vegas. That was home until last year. Moved to S. Carolina.
Superb - this only further increased my affection for Buffalo and western NY state. My parents and I lived in Dunkirk briefly in the early 70's when I started grade 1. We were in eastern Ohio when this happened (which of course had its own blizzards in 77 & 78). I hadn't realized just how bad this was until now. Thanks for posting this!
I was 7 years old living in Cheektowaga, NY (Buffalo airport) when the Blizzard hit. I still remember that we had to get out of the car before backing out of the driveway because the snow drifts were as high as the telephone polls. No exaggeration. School was cancelled for 2 weeks. State of emergency. Took us forever just to dig out our driveway, snow so deep and so thick and heavy. Ive been through many of a snow storm, but never another one like this!
Remember it well. Our family of ten was pretty much stuck in our home for days. My Dad had to sleep at Bell Aerospace for night as every road was closed. And school was out for 2 weeks! My little brother was only two months old when this hit, and we ended up having someone with snowmobile bring us some SMA formula and food! Man, it was cold! Good times! ;)
I was there....born and raised in buffalo.....One of the most important facts was that the sky really turned black at 11:30am as if it was 11pm at night ...that was crazy
I remember the October Surprise of 2006, and the wonderful November "Snowmageddon" of 2014 (which still won't settle down), but I've only heard stories of the Blizzard of 77. My mom was 9 and told stories on how high the snow was in the west side. At one point the sledded from their 2nd story balcony to the streets. Crazy stuff man, but its what makes Buffalonians strong!
I was 10 at the time In Batavia and we were stranded indoors for a few days we lived on rt98 just south of the thruway and had strangers at our house who had to leave their cars on the thruway. We had no school for at least two weeks. Very memorable time.
wyne crawford I was a Freshman at Bishop Timon High School. I was lucky my Dad was a Football Coach so it was Free. The bad news I lived in North Buffalo. Had to take 3 City buses to get there. They were long days 6am - 5pm. I was old enough to go to some of those concerts they had at Bills Stadium. I lived in the City we didnt get those big snow drifts.
In the meantime I have seen many Videos of the christmas blizzard in Buffalo and I agree that the blizzard of '77 was harder. I guess '77 was similar to the winter storm we had in Germany 78/79
I remember going around on snowmobiles and getting stuff at the store for our neighbors. I was a sophomore in HS and I lived in Fredonia at the time. Wicked!
I was reminded of this blizzard after this year's blizzard. I was traveling on Amtrak from NY to Chicago and the train was stuck outside of Buffalo for 12 hours. I joked that I was a Buffalo resident for awhile.
We literally had to use our hands to dig a path from the house to the garage so we could get the shovels to dig our way out of the house. When we teenage kids were freed, we would climb the drifts atop of department stores and jump off on the drifts below in West Seneca/Orchard Park.
We had 36 snow days on Grand Island, 42 in Buffalo. I was in 7th grade, we went to school through the end of JULY! My brothers climbed out onto the roof and dug us out! My dad was in insurance, and worked with plowers to clear the roads, finding cars with "blue" people in them. Devastating. Changes everything. Community becomes SO important. So does prepping for winter, and keeping in touch with elderly neighbors. Bless those hardworking people who saved us all.
OH wow man do I remember that! I started moving to Wyoming Ave that day, around 9am, in a little orange camaro convertible. I had to drop the top in order to get my things to fit. We got stuck on Fillmore and E. Delavan..Behind a firetruck. I lost my Uncle in that blizzard. I thank God we made it. Funny, taking pictures was the last thing on our mind. By day 3, food was critical. Wow! thanks for this great great piece of history.
move to this region until August of 1977 from Maryland;, but for years I have heard of the Blizzard of '77, now I know what everyone was talking about!
It was worse up here in Watertown, Buffalo got the attentione only because they're a larger city. This storm raged over us for 5 days, it was a miracle we didn't lose power or phone services. Tanks from Ft. Drum were in Watertown and literally driving over the tops of cars left parked on the street but couldn't be seen. My school gymnasiums roof caved in from the snow as well. This was a pretty good video, I'll give it 5 stars.
I was born during this blizzard never believed my mom til now after all these years lol. We lived Not far from Lake Michigan . Only now my mom hasn't regained all her memory after the stroke she had a few months ago. Thanks for posting as now I belive her finally better late than never.
I was in the hospital at Millard Gates. My doc came in around 7 am and told me to get my husband there to get me home or I wouldn't get out until spring. We got home to Clarence Center and got our daughter back to the house just as the blizzard hit. The world turned white. We couldn't see a thing past our hands. It wasn't until Sunday that we saw the sun again. Much more can be told.
I grew up down the lake in Erie, PA and received my meteorology degree from PSU in '96. So, I'm a weather nut. Thanks for the BEST weather compilation video I've ever seen! I just wish I was older than 4yrs old when this happened, because it was bad further down the lake too. Great job! I've lived in SW FLA for the last 10 years; I'd have given up my hurricane Charlie and Wilma experiences to have seen this blizzard!!
I will never forget that storm...it was a mega problem...in my opinion 1978 blizzard was bad but the Blizzard of '77 was just unbelievable...I was about 20 years old...
I lived in Buffalo from my birth until 1982. I was stuck in my house for 7 days but never lost electricity. I was at a bar on Bailey ave. called Anancone's eating a sandwich when it started to come down and I left hurriedly, only to then enter a whiteout about halfway home! Somehow I made it, but I will never forget this blizzard. Still, Buffalo is a beautiful place and don't think it's only claim to fame is some snowfall!
Awesome footage. I was 9 when the Blizzard of '77 blew through. We lived in Niagara Falls on 3rd Avenue and I remember one of my mom's co-workers was stranded at our house with us. As a kid, you don't realize the magnitude of the storm. I remember being scared that night but also excited...NO SCHOOL! And I remember not being able to wait to go outside to play in ALL THAT snow.
I was living in Batavia, NY. The streets were closed for a week. We saw drifts higher than silos of barns. Never lost electricity and lived in town and could walk to the store. We had plenty of Yukon Jack to sustain us. By July '77 we had moved to Texas!
I remember this storm, being in Cleveland and having just got hit a few days earlier by a blizzard, but it was nothing compared to what Buffalo experienced. That was a bad winter for everyone.
I remember driving my 1967 Wildcat during the Blizzard thankfully made it home Safe.I was 19 and did not want to stay home but I did oh well.That was the first time Roots came on TV
I was living in South Buffalo during this Blizzard. I remember having to dig out the snow from the elderly neighbors' homes so we could deliver food and medicine to them. The snow was actually a lot of fun as a 14-year-old. We could walk down the middle of main street. Vehicles were not permitted on the roads.
I was 11 years old living in Northern New York about 2 hours south of Ottawa.I remember watching the snow pile up until our car and the 1st floor of our house had snow over the windows. Now that I live on the Texas coast, I have hurricanes. Still I don't miss the snow and bitter cold!
We lived just north of Syracuse. We moved in a blizzard and the snow didn’t stop for a month. Wrapped the car engines in comforters, swept away over 12” of snow off the cars every morning. Quite an adjustment from winters in North Carolina.
This same blizzard hit Chicago and Michigan first -- I'll never forget it. I've never seen so much snow in my life -- the good thing was NO school for a week, but unfortunately no electricity either!
GREAT slideshow! We got slammed in Spencerport/Brockport betwee Rochester and Buffalo. Couple miles off Lake Ontario. Looked just like the worst pics on here, still got the pics. My sled was the only way to get around for over a week. The ol' Rupp Nitro 400 never let me down.
I was in high school at the time...never have seen a storm even close to that one. We were stuck at school for several days (actually had a blast). The wind blew the snow so hard, and the snow drifts were packed so hard that you could drive over them. Nearly all the roads (I was in Niagara County) were cleared with front end loaders, plows were useless. Lots of cars were completely buried...and came out in chunks, the term Iron Snowdrift became common.
I was 11 years old when the storm hit. Missed 2 weeks of school. and the house was completely covered on the front. Vivid memories in Amherst. Fun time for us kids in our neighborhood.
I just showed this to my 7 year old. He is the same age that I was when the storm hit. I now live in LA and work in emergency services and we go into an emergency response mode when it rains.....what a difference!
I lived in Lancaster during this storm. I remember the thunder and waking up to 10 ft. drifts in the driveway and the power outages. A couple of my neighbors had electric stoves and we helped them out with cooking for their families since we had a gas stove. School was out for about a week and I would go outside and build forts in the drifts. I would shovel out the driveway and have to start all over again because the snow was falling fast and hard. That was a real hell of a storm.
I remember I was almost 8 years old and being in 2nd grade at Clarence Center Elementary school and all of us students were told to report to the gymnasium with our coats and we were going to start boarding the buses to go back home. This was probably late morning on Friday Jan. 28th, 1977. Our bus made it as far as Shimerville and Roll Roads in Clarence Ctr. We were stuck in a snow drift until about 8:00 that night. A plow had finally come along and was able to get us out. I lived on Clarence Ctr. Rd. just a few miles from where we were stuck. As the next couple of days went on though roads became impassable for everyone including plows.
I was a senior in high school when the blizzard hit. I later tried to "rescue" a friend stranded at Eastern Hills (a 5-10 min. walk through the woods); But the woods were transformed into a dangerous & surreal arctic-like tundra covering all but tops of the trees. Even when I found my way, I kept falling through the drifts, & had to dig & crawl my way back out. I finally made it but my friend was safer a few more days at the mall-which at least provided warm shelter & hot coffee.
When this blizzard hit I was living in a big old house that was heated by water radiators. I remember my dad getting stranded at work in the city. I stayed on the phone with him all night keeping him posted on what was being said on T.V. while my mom and brother were in the basement trying to unfreeze our water pipes so they wouldn't burst. Me and my brother and sisters slept in our winter coats and mittens the first few nights and still froze all night. I would do it all again. It was a blast.
It was my senior year of high school. We didn’t go to school much that year at all, between the Blizzard and the energy crisis. If you looked out the window, it was like being on the inside of a ping pong ball. My mother put on her dress boots and coat and walked to the office. Mom was tough little bird.
I grew up 25 miles east of Buffalo. This blizzard canceled my 5th birthday party. I remember my older brothers sledding off our porch roof because the snow was drifted 10+ feet in our yard. And when the snow plows made it down our street, the banks were about 15 feet high.
I was a bank teller and stranded in the bank on Main & Court Street from Friday morning till Sunday afternoon! We all watched "ROOTS" My dad worked at Trico and made it to my apartment on Lafayette Ave. The remainder of my family was stranded in Holland NY. A copy of "THE WHITE DEATH" and the Buffalo Newspaper have relocated with me to Chesapeake VA.
I certainly remember the blizzard of 1976: my mother and I went grocery shopping in it! I was shocked that the supermarket was open; we barely made it home!
I work at the University of Buffalo on the Amherst Campus in the student housing. I was stuck on campus for four days - slept in the student lounge and in my office at the Student Club. Remember of running out of everything - bread, milk, eggs....it was pretty amazing. No phones but we did have heat.
I lived in Lake View. The plowed up snow mounds in the South Shore Plaza (Hens & Kelly, The Big N, The Poor House,...) parking lot didn't melt until well into June.
hahaha this was my mom's first winter in Buffalo. Not the best first Buffalo winter to have, but she stayed and met my dad and had my bro and I. We all still call Buffalo home. GO SABRES.
Love hearing the old radio news. Brings back memories of my childhood.
The folks who were great during this time were the many snowmobile owners. They pitched in and were doing all kinds of things for folks. Many delivered groceries to the elderly and picked up prescriptions. They even assisted stranded motorists. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for those folks and all that they did.
Thanks for remembering the snowmobiles that helped. I delivered food and medicine.
My next door neibour who was a volunteer fireman, had a snowmobile and did the same thing for us.
I remember seeing a snowmobile going down Bailey Ave. near Walden. My sisters and I had gone to a nearby store for groceries, which we had to haul home on a small sled!
W we
I can't wait for winter. I watch this all the time.😂 I have a snow playlist.❄☃
I remember the blizzard of 77 like it was yesterday that's good. I was 7 years old. I went out shoveling and made a ton of money
I was in the field at Ft Drum doing, oddly enough, winter warfare training. The temp one night fell to -54 F so the exercise was ended. My unit then was tasked to conduct health and welfare visits to outlying farms and homes, rendering assistance as needed. On skis, because that was the only way to get around after the few plowed roads. So much for climate change.
I was there - the pictures don't do it justice. I will never forget walking over cars burried in snowdrifts, and the visibility so bad you couldn't see your hand in front of your face - REALLY!
Me and my sister sledded out of our bedroom window on the second floor.
W❄O🌬W⛄!!
I remember this well! I was in 7th or 8th grade. I remember how weird it felt to walk down the middle of Niagara Falls Blvd. & there being not a single car.
My Dad did the play by play for the Sabre game in his underware in the family room over the phone :)
Hmm, I'm pretty sure I listened to that broadcast (and all of the Sabres games). Thanks for cracking me up this morning!
You are so welcome :) thanks for remembering xoxo
I remember watching that game on TV! I hope you still have your father.
I remember that Kelly,your dad was a pioneer lol,and the Sabres have honored him
no John Ted Darling died from Picks Disease in 1996
I was there, too. I worked at a hospital and we HAD to come in. So, one person somehow got a car out and we all loaded in. You can't close a hospital. The houses were covered, many people were stranded all over the place. I made banana breads and brought them to nearby churches (I walked through all that snow, but they needed food). It was pretty amazing. Buffalo always gets lots of snow, but this fell so quickly and so much, that they couldn't keep up with it. It's called "Lake Effect" snow. Eventually, they had no other places to put the snow, so the National Guard was called in and they carried snow in railroad cars to down south for it to melt. It was pretty amazing. Once in a lifetime event.
Oh, we THOUGHT it was once in a lifetime, and now look. The Christmas blizzard of 2022 was actually worse :(
My Dad has a chapter in the book. He was one of many that Erno Rossi interviewed. I was a young therapist at the VA at the time and watched that black wall come in from my clinic window. Got home six days later only because as a healthcare worker I had driving privileges once the streets became somewhat passable. My cousin volunteered with his snowmobile delivering food and medicine.
I lived in Niagara Falls and went to college at ECC when this happened. What memories! Thanks for posting. Especially enjoyed the WKBW news. I've recently moved from WNY/Finger Lakes area to Tennessee. Schools were closed here 2 weeks ago because we had 1" (that's one inch...not one foot) of snow...wimps! I told my neighbor the other day that we are enjoying the mild Tennessee winter. He said "Mild?, this is the worst winter we've had in a long time!". It has snowed here 2 times this winter, one inch each time. If that is bad for this area, it was worth moving here just for that reason
I remember a cartoon my gramma sent me from her Florida newspaper. In it was a blank white space except for a little gray area showing the shadow of a plane. Caption: Meanwhile in western New York, the search for Buffalo continues.
Middle daughter born Jan 30. Fire company sent plow, fire truck (???), pick up truck ( ???) and an ambulance. (yes!!) neighbors watched me leave from their front windows. Thanks. Lotsa memories.
I was 6 years old at the time and grew up in Syracuse. I still remember waking up in my bedroom and not being able to look out the window from all the snow..on the second floor lol. I have become wise in my old age and have moved to Arizona....
Great video! My dad would always tell me stories about the Bilzzard of '77 but he only had two or three pictures from it (one had snow reaching his 2nd story window). I now feel bad complaining about snow, my generation has NOTHING on this!
During the height of the blizzard, I strapped on a pair of small plastic children's skis and slid from Amherst to Kensington-Bailey to my girlfriend's house! Those were the days!
I was 7 years old. We got stopped at the PA state line because roads were closing. My Dad had the sense of mind to drive straight to a HoJo's. We were stranded there for three days!
i was 13 when this happened and i remember our whole back yard being encased in ice and i couldn't be happier. I know that sounds crazy to be happy but i remember my mother telling me there would be no school. i was so happy because i was being bullied by a piece of garbage called Karen Fagin. Funny how at the age of 58 you still remember those things. I was just so happy i didn't have to go to school. Thank God for ice storms.
I was there and remember was stuck in East Aurora NY, and was able to get food and milk to my family in Cowlesville by snow mobile a few days later. Will never forget it.
Great pics - bring back memories of being snowed in at work at Globe Albany for 4 days. The roof of the Niag.Frontier Food Terminal blew off. The wind shook our building all night - we slept in rooms without windows for safety. It was quite an experience! The day it started coworkers set out for lunch on Fri; took hours to get back - it went from sunny to zero visibility in a matter of minutes. I got home Tues. by a circuitous route to find open roads - had to go cross town and haled part way.
I was a senior in high school and we have blizzard pictures in our yearbook. The snow drifts were so high that you could walk from the ground to the roof of our house. We had a little miniature Dachshund and trying to take her outside to do her business was a real challenge!
My family still talks about this blizzard. They lived in Lockport at the time; my mom was pregnant with me. We moved to Florida in the 80s, but have spent several snowy Christmases in Lockport since then, and I have never seen anything like this! I never even imagined! Thanks for putting this together!
The pictures, in this presentation are just unbelievable. I've lived, in New England all my life; and I experienced our biggest ever snowstorm, the Blizzard of '78. That was a huge weather event for us; but I have never seen snowdrifts like the ones, in this report. Living with those lake effect snows must be a real adventure.
I was there....27 years old and later in that winter, got pneumonia....recovered but got a serious case of FTS (F_this S_) and moved to Houston. Never looked back. Southern women, shrimp boils, brisket and long necks....damn, I pissed away 1/3 of my life freezing my nads off....so WHY am I living life at double speed??? Gotta catch up to where I SHOULD have been!!!
Thank you for making and posting this video! I was 12 and living in West Seneca during the blizzard. My father was able to get home from work just before the roads closed in. Our house was buried, so when Dad went up on the roof to clear off some snow, we went up with him and sledded right into the back yard. Walls of snow along the driveway got so high we used a wheelbarrow to move it out in the yard. Thanks to your video, my 11-year-old can see how it compares to the MD blizzard of 2010.
This was my first winter back in Buffalo after being away in the Marine Corps for 4 years. When we thawed out in the spring I loaded the wife and kids in the old VW Buss and headed west to Vegas. That was home until last year. Moved to S. Carolina.
Thank god i was only 10 years old to me it. Was the best winter ever now that im older and look back of the devastation it just blows my mine
Superb - this only further increased my affection for Buffalo and western NY state. My parents and I lived in Dunkirk briefly in the early 70's when I started grade 1. We were in eastern Ohio when this happened (which of course had its own blizzards in 77 & 78). I hadn't realized just how bad this was until now. Thanks for posting this!
My Dad had to abandon his car and it took 3 months to find it.The family station wagon! Ole bear! But we got it back and i learned to drive in it!
I was 7 years old living in Cheektowaga, NY (Buffalo airport) when the Blizzard hit. I still remember that we had to get out of the car before backing out of the driveway because the snow drifts were as high as the telephone polls. No exaggeration. School was cancelled for 2 weeks. State of emergency. Took us forever just to dig out our driveway, snow so deep and so thick and heavy. Ive been through many of a snow storm, but never another one like this!
Remember it well. Our family of ten was pretty much stuck in our home for days. My Dad had to sleep at Bell Aerospace for night as every road was closed. And school was out for 2 weeks! My little brother was only two months old when this hit, and we ended up having someone with snowmobile bring us some SMA formula and food!
Man, it was cold! Good times! ;)
I was there....born and raised in buffalo.....One of the most important facts was that the sky really turned black at 11:30am as if it was 11pm at night ...that was crazy
I remember the October Surprise of 2006, and the wonderful November "Snowmageddon" of 2014 (which still won't settle down), but I've only heard stories of the Blizzard of 77. My mom was 9 and told stories on how high the snow was in the west side. At one point the sledded from their 2nd story balcony to the streets. Crazy stuff man, but its what makes Buffalonians strong!
It was me, I was the October surprise of 2006.
I was 10 at the time In Batavia and we were stranded indoors for a few days we lived on rt98 just south of the thruway and had strangers at our house who had to leave their cars on the thruway. We had no school for at least two weeks. Very memorable time.
Wow! That's incredible! Great video... Good job. I liked the radio in the background... lending me a visit back in time. Thanks for sharing.
The song Dancing Queen was brand new !!
The radio broadcast is pretty awesome too..
Not to sound cruel?, but atleast the radio station was nice enough to play some ABBA to calm the folks down
I was born during the blizzard of '77!!
I was 14 at the time and remember this well. You would dig down into the snow looking for the street sign to see what street you were on.
Oh my God!! Glad you were ok
I was 14 also loving in Niagara Falls.
i was 17 years old at the time when we had blizzard of 77
Can't believe we're 60 now.
wyne crawford I was a Freshman at Bishop Timon High School. I was lucky my Dad was a Football Coach so it was Free. The bad news I lived in North Buffalo. Had to take 3 City buses to get there. They were long days 6am - 5pm. I was old enough to go to some of those concerts they had at Bills Stadium. I lived in the City we didnt get those big snow drifts.
The recent Blizzard of 2022 was bad, but I tell my younger friends ‘77 was worse. We called it The White Death.
In the meantime I have seen many Videos of the christmas blizzard in Buffalo and I agree that the blizzard of '77 was harder. I guess '77 was similar to the winter storm we had in Germany 78/79
I remember going around on snowmobiles and getting stuff at the store for our neighbors. I was a sophomore in HS and I lived in Fredonia at the time. Wicked!
I was reminded of this blizzard after this year's blizzard. I was traveling on Amtrak from NY to Chicago and the train was stuck outside of Buffalo for 12 hours. I joked that I was a Buffalo resident for awhile.
We literally had to use our hands to dig a path from the house to the garage so we could get the shovels to dig our way out of the house. When we teenage kids were freed, we would climb the drifts atop of department stores and jump off on the drifts below in West Seneca/Orchard Park.
We had 36 snow days on Grand Island, 42 in Buffalo. I was in 7th grade, we went to school through the end of JULY! My brothers climbed out onto the roof and dug us out! My dad was in insurance, and worked with plowers to clear the roads, finding cars with "blue" people in them. Devastating. Changes everything. Community becomes SO important. So does prepping for winter, and keeping in touch with elderly neighbors. Bless those hardworking people who saved us all.
OH wow man do I remember that! I started moving to Wyoming Ave that day, around 9am, in a little orange camaro convertible. I had to drop the top in order to get my things to fit. We got stuck on Fillmore and E. Delavan..Behind a firetruck. I lost my Uncle in that blizzard. I thank God we made it.
Funny, taking pictures was the last thing on our mind. By day 3, food was critical. Wow! thanks for this great great piece of history.
move to this region until August of 1977 from Maryland;, but for years I have heard of the Blizzard of '77, now I know what everyone was talking about!
It was worse up here in Watertown, Buffalo got the attentione only because they're a larger city. This storm raged over us for 5 days, it was a miracle we didn't lose power or phone services. Tanks from Ft. Drum were in Watertown and literally driving over the tops of cars left parked on the street but couldn't be seen. My school gymnasiums roof caved in from the snow as well. This was a pretty good video, I'll give it 5 stars.
I was born during this blizzard never believed my mom til now after all these years lol. We lived Not far from Lake Michigan . Only now my mom hasn't regained all her memory after the stroke she had a few months ago. Thanks for posting as now I belive her finally better late than never.
I was in the hospital at Millard Gates. My doc came in around 7 am and told me to get my husband there to get me home or I wouldn't get out until spring. We got home to Clarence Center and got our daughter back to the house just as the blizzard hit. The world turned white. We couldn't see a thing past our hands. It wasn't until Sunday that we saw the sun again. Much more can be told.
I grew up down the lake in Erie, PA and received my meteorology degree from PSU in '96. So, I'm a weather nut. Thanks for the BEST weather compilation video I've ever seen! I just wish I was older than 4yrs old when this happened, because it was bad further down the lake too. Great job! I've lived in SW FLA for the last 10 years; I'd have given up my hurricane Charlie and Wilma experiences to have seen this blizzard!!
I will never forget that storm...it was a mega problem...in my opinion 1978 blizzard was bad but the Blizzard of '77 was just unbelievable...I was about 20 years old...
I lived in Buffalo from my birth until 1982. I was stuck in my house for 7 days but never lost electricity. I was at a bar on Bailey ave. called Anancone's eating a sandwich when it started to come down and I left hurriedly, only to then enter a whiteout about halfway home! Somehow I made it, but I will never forget this blizzard. Still, Buffalo is a beautiful place and don't think it's only claim to fame is some snowfall!
Awesome footage. I was 9 when the Blizzard of '77 blew through. We lived in Niagara Falls on 3rd Avenue and I remember one of my mom's co-workers was stranded at our house with us. As a kid, you don't realize the magnitude of the storm. I remember being scared that night but also excited...NO SCHOOL! And I remember not being able to wait to go outside to play in ALL THAT snow.
I was living in Batavia, NY. The streets were closed for a week. We saw drifts higher than silos of barns. Never lost electricity and lived in town and could walk to the store. We had plenty of Yukon Jack to sustain us. By July '77 we had moved to Texas!
I remember this storm, being in Cleveland and having just got hit a few days earlier by a blizzard, but it was nothing compared to what Buffalo experienced. That was a bad winter for everyone.
I remember driving my 1967 Wildcat during the Blizzard thankfully made it home Safe.I was 19 and did not want to stay home but I did oh well.That was the first time Roots came on TV
I was living in South Buffalo during this Blizzard. I remember having to dig out the snow from the elderly neighbors' homes so we could deliver food and medicine to them. The snow was actually a lot of fun as a 14-year-old. We could walk down the middle of main street. Vehicles were not permitted on the roads.
I was a senior in HS and this was HELL.
Yes, I was in the blizzard, I was all alone. 15 years old.
I remember that winter as a kid. Interestingly enough, my folks moved to Arizona in the spring following this!
I was 11 years old living in Northern New York about 2 hours south of Ottawa.I remember watching the snow pile up until our car and the 1st floor of our house had snow over the windows. Now that I live on the Texas coast, I have hurricanes. Still I don't miss the snow and bitter cold!
38 years ago today, hard to believe it was that long ago. A storm that will never be forgotten.
We lived just north of Syracuse. We moved in a blizzard and the snow didn’t stop for a month. Wrapped the car engines in comforters, swept away over 12” of snow off the cars every morning. Quite an adjustment from winters in North Carolina.
I was about 5 years old and lived in Mt. Hope, Ontario.
Amazingly enough, we didn't lose our hydro.
Amazing, and utterly surreal to see. The radio is great. Thanks for posting!
We didn't have school for *weeks* after that.
It was good to hear the WKBW audio along with the pictures.
Thanks!
Wild
My Birthday that year was awesome ... everyone stranded at NU, student, teachers, workers etc. drinking at the campus bar! one I remember well
Viewing this in Maryland, Feb. 2020. It was 62 degrees here today. Wow!
Hard to believe it was +40 years ago. Even harder to believe I remember it very clearly.
I don't. I was in diapers in my crib. Lol
Buffalo is sweet.. I wish somethin close to that cn happen sometime soon again... sometime in MY lifetime...:)
well something close did happen,the twin blizzards of the winter of 2014-15
This same blizzard hit Chicago and Michigan first -- I'll never forget it. I've never seen so much snow in my life -- the good thing was NO school for a week, but unfortunately no electricity either!
GREAT slideshow! We got slammed in Spencerport/Brockport betwee Rochester and Buffalo. Couple miles off Lake Ontario. Looked just like the worst pics on here, still got the pics. My sled was the only way to get around for over a week. The ol' Rupp Nitro 400 never let me down.
I knew when I heard ABBA that everything was going to be okay!
I was in high school at the time...never have seen a storm even close to that one. We were stuck at school for several days (actually had a blast). The wind blew the snow so hard, and the snow drifts were packed so hard that you could drive over them. Nearly all the roads (I was in Niagara County) were cleared with front end loaders, plows were useless. Lots of cars were completely buried...and came out in chunks, the term Iron Snowdrift became common.
I was 11 years old when the storm hit. Missed 2 weeks of school. and the house was completely covered on the front. Vivid memories in Amherst. Fun time for us kids in our neighborhood.
I just showed this to my 7 year old. He is the same age that I was when the storm hit. I now live in LA and work in emergency services and we go into an emergency response mode when it rains.....what a difference!
I lived in Lancaster during this storm. I remember the thunder and waking up to 10 ft. drifts in the driveway and the power outages. A couple of my neighbors had electric stoves and we helped them out with cooking for their families since we had a gas stove. School was out for about a week and I would go outside and build forts in the drifts. I would shovel out the driveway and have to start all over again because the snow was falling fast and hard. That was a real hell of a storm.
I remember I was almost 8 years old and being in 2nd grade at Clarence Center Elementary school and all of us students were told to report to the gymnasium with our coats and we were going to start boarding the buses to go back home. This was probably late morning on Friday Jan. 28th, 1977. Our bus made it as far as Shimerville and Roll Roads in Clarence Ctr. We were stuck in a snow drift until about 8:00 that night. A plow had finally come along and was able to get us out. I lived on Clarence Ctr. Rd. just a few miles from where we were stuck. As the next couple of days went on though roads became impassable for everyone including plows.
I was a senior in high school when the blizzard hit. I later tried to "rescue" a friend stranded at Eastern Hills (a 5-10 min. walk through the woods); But the woods were transformed into a dangerous & surreal arctic-like tundra covering all but tops of the trees. Even when I found my way, I kept falling through the drifts, & had to dig & crawl my way back out. I finally made it but my friend was safer a few more days at the mall-which at least provided warm shelter & hot coffee.
I was conceived during this storm. So thanks storm.
When this blizzard hit I was living in a big old house that was heated by water radiators. I remember my dad getting stranded at work in the city. I stayed on the phone with him all night keeping him posted on what was being said on T.V. while my mom and brother were in the basement trying to unfreeze our water pipes so they wouldn't burst. Me and my brother and sisters slept in our winter coats and mittens the first few nights and still froze all night. I would do it all again. It was a blast.
It was my senior year of high school. We didn’t go to school much that year at all, between the Blizzard and the energy crisis.
If you looked out the window, it was like being on the inside of a ping pong ball.
My mother put on her dress boots and coat and walked to the office. Mom was tough little bird.
Nice slide show. The one picture is from the street behind where I lived at the time!
I was 8 years old and we had a blast.
I grew up 25 miles east of Buffalo. This blizzard canceled my 5th birthday party. I remember my older brothers sledding off our porch roof because the snow was drifted 10+ feet in our yard. And when the snow plows made it down our street, the banks were about 15 feet high.
I was a bank teller and stranded in the bank on Main & Court Street from Friday morning till Sunday afternoon! We all watched "ROOTS" My dad worked at Trico and made it to my apartment on Lafayette Ave. The remainder of my family was stranded in Holland NY. A copy of "THE WHITE DEATH" and the Buffalo Newspaper have relocated with me to Chesapeake VA.
Got the book white death ( about this blizzard) for Xmas today
don't forget a lot of that came into Southern ontario as well!!
I certainly remember the blizzard of 1976: my mother and I went grocery shopping in it! I was shocked that the supermarket was open; we barely made it home!
I remember this,the main roads had snow plowed half way up the telephone polls it looked like a toboggan run, it was crazy ........
I survived this. I was born and raised there. I now reside in the south ☺ but do visit there as my family is there.
I work at the University of Buffalo on the Amherst Campus in the student housing. I was stuck on campus for four days - slept in the student lounge and in my office at the Student Club. Remember of running out of everything - bread, milk, eggs....it was pretty amazing. No phones but we did have heat.
WOW!!!
Combining the slides with the old radio audio ..... one of the coolest videos I've seen.
My grandpa was in this and is still living :D He even has a book with his name in it.
Thanks so much for sharing this! I live in Lancaster. This is fascinating to hear about my town!
I was 20 that year! I remember shoveling our driveway in the early afternoon, thinking the snow would stop soon. What did I know?!
I was in the 7th grade in Buffalo and so happy school was closed.....had no idea at the time how bad it was.
I lived in Lake View. The plowed up snow mounds in the South Shore Plaza (Hens & Kelly, The Big N, The Poor House,...) parking lot didn't melt until well into June.
hahaha this was my mom's first winter in Buffalo. Not the best first Buffalo winter to have, but she stayed and met my dad and had my bro and I. We all still call Buffalo home. GO SABRES.
I was at a Sabres game the night before it hit at the old Aud