Lake Storm "Aphid"

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The October 2006 Buffalo storm, also known as Lake Storm "Aphid", the October Surprise and the Columbus Day Massacre, among other monikers [1], was the National Weather Service's name [2] for the unusual early-season lake effect snow storm that hit the Buffalo, New York area from the night of October 12 through the morning of October 13, 2006. The storm's effects were highly localized: it dumped up to 2 feet (60 cm) of snow on some areas of the Buffalo metro region, while other areas saw very little snow, or no snow at all. The event was described by the National Weather Service Office in Buffalo, New York as "astounding" "unbelievable" and "incredible" (ibid.) and by the Toronto Star as "one of the most devastating snow storms in US history" [3]. It was also an example of the "particularly rare meteorological phenomenon" known as thundersnow.

In affected areas, wet, heavy lake effect snow with a snow-water equivalent (SWE) ratio of between 6:1 and 12:1 [2] (in comparison, the "powder" so prized by skiiers is 25:1) and with a weight in excess of 9.8 pounds per square foot [4] piled onto trees which were still in full leaf, leading to significant damage [to trees] on a scale usually associated with hurricanes. An estimated 400,000 people were without power on Friday the 13th [5], some 100,000 households remained without power for a week [6], and a few thousand remained without power for ten days [7].

Effects of the storm were responsible for three fatalities between Thursday night and Friday morning when the storm hit: two from automobile accidents, and one from a falling branch. Ten more deaths followed in the first days of the aftermath, some from pre-existing health (usually heart) conditions and other causes, and several from carbon monoxide poisoning. Injuries blamed on the storm and its aftermath numbered in the several hundred and included those from chainsaw accidents and carbon monoxide poisoning [8].

Conservative initial damage estimates to clean up the estimated 6-8.6 million cubic yards of debris [9] were at least $130 million USD [8], but even ten days after the storm hit, estimates of the number of tons of debris and the final costs of clearing them were "a moving target" [10]. The storm closed the Buffalo Niagara International Airport for several hours on Thursday, October 12 and again on Friday, October 13, and closed a 100 mile (160 km) stretch of the New York State Thruway for several hours on Friday, October 13. Many if not most businesses were closed for at least a few days, and schools for at least a week. Most schools reopened on Monday, October 23 after six consecutive "snow days," but a few in the most heavily-affected areas, reopened later that week [11]. Affected parts of Erie, Genesee, Orleans, and Niagara Counties in Western New York were declared a "major disaster" area by President George W Bush on October 24, 2006 [12].


It is estimated that the storm damaged as many as 90 percent of the city's trees [13] [14] including many in the city's cherished parks and parkways which were designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The damage constituted a significant setback to Buffalo's urban reforestation agenda [15] which had aimed to increase the city's tree canopy from its estimated 2003 levels of 12 percent [16], to something more closely approaching the national average of 30 percent (ibid.). Buffalo suburbs, also hard hit by the storm, do have a canopy cover approaching 20-30 percent (ibid.)

Although the two-foot snow cover melted by Saturday, October 15 [17], cleanup efforts were impeded in the first days after the storm by the tangle of fallen trees, fallen branches, and downed power lines: power grid crews couldn't reach the downed power lines because of fallen trees, and tree removal crews couldn't clear debris because of the dangers of the downed power lines [18]. Even after roads were cleared and power was restored, it was estimated that the cleanup and restoration could take "weeks" or "months" [7] [19].

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Off Main Street. Buffalo News. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  2. ^ a b "Historic Lake Effect Snow Storm of October 12-13, 2006". National Weather Service Forecast Office in Buffalo. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  3. ^ Michelle Henry. "30,000 homes still without power", Buffalo News. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  4. ^ Stu Ostro. Historic snowfall for the Niagara Frontier. Weather Channel blog. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  5. ^ ""Buffalo, New York snow storm closes schools, leaves nearly 400,000 without power"", Wikinews. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  6. ^ Tim Lai. ""Buffalo still staggering"", The Toronto Star. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  7. ^ a b Michael Beebe. ""Major disaster status expected"", Buffalo News. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  8. ^ a b Michael Beebe. ""Cleanup costs top $135 million"", Buffalo News. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  9. ^ Michael Beebe. ""Storm reimbursement cloudy"", Buffalo News. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  10. ^ ""Cleanup cost a moving target likely to grow bigger"", Buffalo News. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  11. ^ "Most western New York schools reopen after October-surprise", 13WHAM TV (AP). Retrieved on 2006-10-25.
  12. ^ "FEMA Disaster Declaration: What It Means For You", WBEN 930AM. Retrieved on 2006-10-25.
  13. ^ Caroline Thompson. ""Early snowstorm battered Buffalo's historic parks, trees"", Associated Press, USA Today.
  14. ^ Gene Warner. ""Parks' treasures badly battered"", Buffalo News. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  15. ^ Press Release. "City of Buffalo Receives State Grant". Office of the Mayor, Buffalo. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  16. ^ "Urban Ecosystem Analysis Buffalo-Lackawanna Area Erie County, New York". American Forests. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  17. ^ ""WNYers Flock To Erie For Snow Supplies"", WBEN 930 AM. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  18. ^ ""270,000 still lack power"", Buffalo News. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  19. ^ Michael Beebe and Thomas J Dolan. "Cleanup to last months", Buffalo News. Retrieved on 2006-10-25.

[edit] External links

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