Yesterday, I posted about the lake effect snow storms afflicting several areas in the US, including western New York State just south of Buffalo. Sadly, there have been twelve deaths attributed to the storm so far. Because so many feet of snow are very heavy, there have been some roof collapses with more feared to come.
Some areas are still receiving additional snowfall. The forecast predicts a warm front with some rain arriving over the weekend. This has only heightened worries of more roof collapses as the rain adds weight to the feet of accumulated snow. People are trying to clean snow off roofs as quickly as possible, but the area is quite densely populated and many roads are still inaccessible for help and equipment to arrive.
The other very real threat is flooding. With temperatures predicted to climb to 60 degrees F. (15 degrees C.), the snow will melt rapidly and street and small stream flooding is most likely unavoidable.
All brought to you by global warming. Remember, even though this is a cold weather event, it was started by a tropical typhoon.
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I missed this post at the time you sent it out, but have wondered how this all turned out. Have there been more storms like this? How was the flooding?
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The rain was not as heavy as predicted, so the flooding was relatively minor, as the snow melted more slowly. The snow belt in NY has also benefited from a return to seasonable or warmer than normal temperatures, so there hasn’t been a lot of lake effect snow in December. However, lake effect snow is possible as long as Lakes Erie and Ontario stay clear of ice. Some years, they don’t freeze at all and lake effect remains a threat throughout winter and early spring.
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