Snow Day in Buffalo

This morning I awoke to various news stations reporting a record October snowstorm in my home city of Buffalo, New York. Up to two feet of the destructive snow, delivered in a fury of thunder and lightning, blanketed Buffalo and surrounding areas by early Friday. The wet, heavy snow downed tree limbs and toppled power lines, leaving 350,000 homes and businesses without electricity in western New York and closing schools, officials said. I'm assuming my mom had a snow day, but I haven't been able to reach her as the power lines are down, which means so are the cordless phones, answering machines, and computers.

According to news reports, 8.3 inches of heavy snow on Thursday set the record for the "snowiest" October day in Buffalo in the 137-year history of the weather service, said meteorologist Tom Niziol. The previous record of 6 inches was set October 31, 1917. Lake Effect Snow is one thing I do not miss about Buffalo. But I do miss the snow days!

An aerial view of the city of Buffalo shows several inches of lake-effect snow which caused widespread power outages in Buffalo, N.Y. and the surrounding area Friday Oct. 13, 2006. (Associated Press)