Weather History for January 31

News Headlines

Western New York Weather History

JANUARY 31

1991

Strong west to northwest winds combined with cold air to produce intense bands of lake effect snow off Lakes Erie and Ontario. Reported snowfall amounts included: Oswego, Oswego county, 18"; Mayville, Chautauqua county, 12"; and Hamburg, Erie county, 6".

1993

Circulation around low pressure centered near Georgian Bay produced strong winds across extreme Western New York. The southwest winds which were funnelled up Lake Erie often reached 40 mph. The peak gust at the Buffalo Airport was 56 mph at 2AM.

2001

Soaking rains on the 30th caused significant rises in area river and creek levels. The rapid rise resulted in an ice jam on Cazenovia Creek in Erie County. In West Seneca, basement and road flooding occurred in the Parkside/Willowdale neighborhood. The jam broke later in the morning and the water levels receded.

2002

30TH-31ST...A three to five inch snowfall overnight of the 30th-31st turned to freezing rain during the morning hours. Ice accumulations of one-half to three-quarters inch occurred. Hundreds of thousands were left without power as the heavy ice build-up downed trees and power lines. Some areas were without power for up to 72 hours. Winds picked up and gusted to 55 mph. Trees and tree limbs fell blocking roads and damaging homes and automobiles. Tree damage included large and small limb breakage and bark damage as well as the uprooting of trees. States of Emergency were declared across the Niagara Frontier counties. East of Lake Ontario snowfall amounts of six to eight inches were followed by one-quarter to one-half inch of ice.

2007

A strong westerly flow reignited lake effect snows off both Lakes Erie and Ontario Wednesday morning (31st). The activity was very intense off Lake Ontario, focusing near the Oswego-Jefferson County line and extending right across the Tug Hill. Snow fell at 2 to 4 inches per hour and piled up to 1 to 3 feet on the southwestern portion of the plateau. The activity broke up a bit and lifted north in the evening as shear increased. Off Lake Erie, a broader area of disorganized lake snow prevailed through most of the morning before it consolidated into an intense west to east band over Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties at midday. This band lifted north across Buffalo's south Towns by late afternoon, but dissipated right as it reached Buffalo due to increasing southerly shear. The movement of the band precluded heavy accumulations with most areas only seeing heavy snow for an hour or two, with totals generally 4 to 6 inches with a few outliers of up to 8" on the Chautauqua ridge and over to Ellicottville. Off Lake Ontario, specific snowfall reports included: 35 inches at Redfield, 16 inches at Mannsville, 15 inches as North Osceola, 13 inches as Hooker, and 12 inches at Highmarket.