Weather History for March 7

MARCH 7

1932

At Buffalo, light rain changing to snow set in with low ceilings and visibilities and falling temperatures by early afternoon. By 4pm the wind was northwest 20-30 mph and gusty. Snow became heavy by 6pm and accumulated to 2.5 inches by 9pm. Heavy snow continued attended by gusty westerly winds and by morning of the 7^th, 6 to 10 feet drifts were measured to the west of the airport buildings while east of the hangars drifts of three feet and more had formed. Attended by west wind which increased to 35-40mph the heavy snow continued at the same time gradually blowing off the field and increasing the drifts east of the buildings. The ceiling and visibility remained low. The drifts gradually became 5 to 6 feet behind and around the buildings. By the middle of the afternoon traffic on the airport road was impossible and all cars had to travel over the cinder parking space east of the road and buildings. Visibility at times was zero or near zero due to blowing snow making car traffic hazardous. Flying was at a standstill. The snow fighting apparatus broke down completely due to overstrain. The depth of snow on the field diminished down to 1.5 inches of crusted packed snow with a few slight drifts of 2 to 3 feet near the buildings and near rough spots. In the course of the afternoon the drifts became bigger reaching a depth of 7 feet in one instance where an automobile was practically buried. Later on in the afternoon, the snowfall became moderate and at times light but the snow continued to blow along the ground making visibility very low. Snow continued to move around during the following night forming new drifts, enlarging others and filling in all places were attempts were made to clear the road so that by the next morning conditions were as bad as ever. During the 8th, snow continued to blow on and off and the drifts reached estimated heights of 8 feet and more. The snow in these drifts was packed so hard by the wind that one could walk over the tops of them without sinking into them more than an inch. During the night from march 8th to 9th, the wind diminished to less than 20 miles and the blowing of snow gradually stopped but began again mildly the following day. The airport road was not opened for traffic until Thursday, March 10th. Probably half of all the cars coming into the airport and leaving were stuck for some part of the time. Due to the bad blizzard-like visibility conditions the drifts were not visible until one ran into them and then it was too late. Some cars in going off the road to avoid drifts ran into a soft spot and were mired. All the highways near the airport, particularly those running between Main Street and Genesee were blocked for days, in some instances by only one or two large drifts while the rest of the road was swept clean.

2008

7th-9th...One of the worst storms of the 2007-2008 winter season occurred on from the 7th through the 9th. This was an extended two part event but totals of one to two feet were common, with some isolated higher amounts. The storm occurred over a weekend so impact to daily activities (school and businesses) was minimal. Numerous automobile accidents were blamed on the slippery conditions and poor visibilities in falling and blowing snow. The 21.6 inch total measured at the Buffalo Airport was the greatest general (non-lake effect) snowfall in Buffalo in 24 years. Other snowfall reports included: 30 inches at Ellicottville; 26 inches at Lockport and Perrysburg; 24 inches at Depew; 23 inches at Getzville; 22 inches at North Tonawanda and Hamlin; 21 inches at Hamburg, Amherst and Niagara Falls; 18 inches at Brockport, Colden, Sinclairville, and Warsaw; 17 inches as Copenhagen, Forestville and South Dayton; 16 inches at Darien and Scottsburg; 15 inches at Colden, Gaines, Pulaski and Basom; 14 inches at Middleport, Lacona, and Webster; 13 inches as Greece, Hannibal and Kennedy; and 12 inches at Cato, Bennetts Bridge and Marion.