Winter Storm "Knife" (13 deaths as of 11/22/14 @0600)

Museborn · Nov 20, 2014

Welcome from snowed-in Orchard Park, NY, outside of Buffalo.

A state of emergency and a travel ban has been in place for three days now. The New York State Thruway has been closed from the PA line all the way to Rochester. The New York National Guard has been called in to help clear some of the 5-8 feet (yes, feet) of snow that has fallen since Monday night. Schools and businesses have been closed for three days as well.

There have been several fires that the Buffalo Fire Department has had difficulty getting to due to abandoned and stuck or immobile cars. EMS calls have been responded to by snowmobile. A ambulance with a trauma patient from Lackawanna NY could not get within 2 miles of the nearest hospital and had to be rescued.

A baby was born in a fire station - fortunately the firemen had just dug out a car with a pediatric nurse trapped inside, and she was brought to the fire station in an amazing coincidence. We are digging out slowly, but another storm is on the way today.

I will update as I get the chance.

We are Buffalonians, the city of Good Neighbors, and we will get through this!!

FDNYSTATENISLAND · Nov 20, 2014

Thanks for the update Museborn,thats truly something. I read that some 76 inches fell in about a 24 hour span, I can only imagine the great difficulty the Buffalo FD, PD and EMS are having responding to emergencies. Also read that 8 are dead as of right now. Stay safe

Museborn · Nov 20, 2014

Unfortunately that is true: eight are dead. Four had cardiac arrests while shoveling the snow. At least one man was found in his car and snow had blocked the tailpipe. May they all rest in peace.

I'm sure there will be more. There have been several major roof collapses, with rescuers having difficulty getting to the buildings due to the piled up snow. I am listening to the National Guard on my scanner, they are using Buffalo Fire's fireground frequency for communications. Right now they are trying to get busses through to the elderly and disabled people who are trapped in their homes.

We have massive front loaders operating - but here is the next problem: where to put all that snow? They are using abandoned mall parking lots and other places to dump the snow, but there is a limit to the amount of trucks and front loaders available to use.

This is quite the disaster for Western NY.

FDNYSTATENISLAND said:
Thanks for the update Museborn,thats truly something. I read that some 76 inches fell in about a 24 hour span, I can only imagine the great difficulty the Buffalo FD, PD and EMS are having responding to emergencies. Also read that 8 are dead as of right now. Stay safe

memory master · Nov 20, 2014

Let us hope that the temperatures don't warm too much and rain falls on this snow or flooding will be the next issue. Prayers for all and be safe!

Museborn · Nov 20, 2014

That's the next fear, memory master. The temp this weekend is forecast to rise, and all this snow has to go somewhere.

memory master said:
Let us hope that the temperatures don't warm too much and rain falls on this snow or flooding will be the next issue. Prayers for all and be safe!

336 · Nov 20, 2014

We just sent a 4x4 light rescue towing a Kabota on Trax to support the Monroe County spec-ops collapse unit.

I've been told to prepare for a Sunday deployment for 72 hrs in our other light 4x4 rescue with portable pumps, shovels and airpacks with spare bottles.

This mess is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better..

NYBravest82 · Nov 20, 2014

336 said:
This mess is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better..

As a weather expert I can sadly attest to this. I've been monitoring weather for 25 years and have never seen something like this happen so early and so fast.

Also, this just came across;
"The FDNY Incident Management Team has been activated. They leave at 6am Friday, heading to Buffalo, NY."

What and who exactly will be going up there?

Is there anything we can do?

guitarman314 · Nov 20, 2014

FDNY***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FDNY DEPLOYS INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM TO BUFFALO TO COORDINATE SNOW REMOVAL
FOLLOWING UNPRECEDENTED SNOWFALL

Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro announced today that the FDNY Incident
Management Team (IMT) is being deployed to Buffalo to assist in the organization
and management of snow removal efforts following this week?s record snowfall.
Thirty-five FDNY IMT members will leave from the FDNY Fire Academy on Randalls
Island at 5:45 a.m. on Friday, November 21 for Buffalo to assist in coordinating
the extensive efforts already underway. This deployment comes at the request of
the New York State Division of Homeland Security and in coordination with the
New York City Office of Emergency Management.

?With more than five feet of snow on the ground in many areas, the FDNY wants to
do our part to help our neighbors in Western New York quickly get free from the
effects of this deadly and crippling storm? said Commissioner Nigro. ?As they
have done at major natural disasters in the past ? including Hurricane Katrina
and Sandy ? the FDNY IMT will coordinate with local and regional officials
upstate to bring help where it is needed most and assist in managing this
crisis.?

IMTs are federally trained teams of first responders responsible for overseeing
large-scale long-duration incidents and emergencies, including forest fires,
earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. Following September 11th,
2001, an IMT from the United States Forestry Service greatly assisted FDNY with
the rescue and recovery effort at the World Trade Center site. From this
experience, the FDNY IMT was formed to manage incidents here in New York City
and across the country. The FDNY IMT has responded to multiple national
emergencies including forest fires; to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina;
in Broome County, NY following Hurricane Irene and here in New York after
Hurricane Sandy. The FDNY IMT consists of more than 180 FDNY members from all
ranks in the Department with specialized training in incident command, rescue
operations, logistics and planning.

WHERE: FDNY Fire Academy, Randalls Island

WHEN: Friday, November 21 ? approximately 5:45 a.m.

NYBravest82 · Nov 21, 2014

Heard that some of the new Highwater equipment will be going, if true, this could be a good litmus test for it. Dsny should really be getting in on this too, as should some Canadian groups, they way they plow up north is ridiculously efficient. Not to mention Toronto is closer.

Museborn · Nov 21, 2014

Quick update:

First of all, thank you for all of your kind words and actions. This is unprecedented, and even though the snow has stopped as of right now, there is tons of snow (literally) on the ground.

Right now, most of the roads in Erie County (Buffalo) are under a travel ban. Police are ticketing non-emergency vehicles that are on the roads. Most travel, if any, is being done by snowmobile or on foot. The New York State Thruway remains closed.

Most schools and many businesses in Erie County remain closed.

Meals on Wheels has not been able to deliver meals for three days. Erie County has called "Hundreds" of elderly and shut-ins to make sure that they are OK. Where there were emergency situations, Erie County Sheriff's Offices sent out 4-wheel drive vehicles with meals to about 90 people.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has mobilized the largest mobilization of resources in history. In addition to the National Guard, he has given credit to resources from Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, Albany and New York City (I assume that is the FDNY units, although there may be more resources that I don't know about coming) as well as cities in Pennsylvania.

There have been many major building collapses, including an auto repair shop and a pharmacy. Officials are very worried about the snow pack on top of mobile homes and farm/rural buildings. Many other buildings are reporting sagging and cracked roofs. The watershed is a large worry, and there are going to be preparations for major flooding as the temperature rises over the next few days and rain is in the forecast.

The Buffalo Sabres NHL game tonight vs. the New York Rangers has been postponed. The Buffalo Bills NFL game vs. the New York Jets game on Sunday has been postponed until Monday at 7 PM and will be played in Detroit.

Unfortunately, the death toll has risen to 12. The last two were elderly people who pass during a nursing home evacuation. May they rest in peace, and prayers and thoughts to all the families effected by this storm.

NYBravest82 · Nov 21, 2014

Stay strong up there!!

nfd2004 · Nov 21, 2014

"Museborn", your reports have been great. The last time I remember reading stories like this in Buffalo was in Firehouse Magazine during the year of the Blizzard of '78. That was a record breaker, but it started out like this in the Buffalo area.

New York and New England got hit hard that year. I left to go to my job when it started and couldn't get home for three straight days. When I finally did get home, the only way I made it was a Army National Guard bulldozer was plowing a path in front of me. Once home I had to dig my way in just to open my front door.

Snow mobiles and four wheel drive vehicles were used to stretch fire hoses in some cases. FD and EMS did CPR on skids being towed by snow mobiles.

I sure hope the north is not in for another one of those years.

Thanks for these reports.

grumpy grizzly · Nov 21, 2014

Police are ticketing non-emergency vehicles driving and well they should! What is so damn important that your sorry butt has to be on the road? I remember well the blizzard of '78 in Boston, traffic was banned for an entire week, the military had to fly in equipment to help out.

Museborn · Nov 21, 2014

According to Buffalo TV station WIVB, here are some of the estimated snow totals:

Towns in Erie County:

Hamburg ? 79.5
West Seneca ? 78.0
Lancaster ? 74.0
Orchard Park (where Museborn lives)? 71.0
Wales Center ? 69.3
Blasdell ? 61.0
Alden ? 57.5
Colden ? 55.1
Boston (NY, obviously) ? 48.0

Again, these are estimates, with actual numbers probably being higher or lower depending upon where you are.

This was an interesting storm, at least on Tuesday - the SW winds set up a lake effect going up Lake Erie such that it was a 14 mile wide band of snow, cutting through (hence the "Knife" moniker) the Southtowns and South Buffalo. Once you got out of the storm path, there were blue skies and sunshine. As the winds changed, the storm moved north and then south again, passing over the same area that was hit on Tuesday, increasing the snowfall amount.

I will report more after the news broadcasts at 1700 and 1800 hours.

Museborn · Nov 21, 2014

Things could get worse before they start getting better. We welcome all the help from all over the state. Gov. Cuomo estimates approximately 5000 people have been mobilized.

From the National Weather Service: (Sounds like the FDNY High-water units will be utilized)

Flood Watch
FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
338 PM EST FRI NOV 21 2014

...SIGNIFICANT FLOODING POSSIBLE EARLY NEXT WEEK...

TWO SIGNIFICANT LAKE EFFECT SNOW EVENTS THIS WEEK HAVE BROUGHT A
VERY DEEP SNOWPACK ACROSS PORTIONS OF WESTERN NEW YORK. THIS
SNOWPACK NOW STORES A LARGE QUANTITY OF WATER. SNOW SURVEYS TODAY
INDICATE THAT THE SNOWPACK IN THE HARDEST HIT AREAS CONTAINS
BETWEEN 4 AND 6 INCHES OF WATER EQUIVALENT. AFTER THE LAKE EFFECT
SNOW ENDS...A WARMING TREND WILL START EARLY THIS WEEKEND. BY
SATURDAY AFTERNOON AIR TEMPERATURES WILL RISE ABOVE FREEZING
AND THEN REMAIN ABOVE FREEZING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. DAYTIME
HIGHS WILL RISE TO NEAR 50 F DEGREES ON SUNDAY...AND NEAR 60 F
DEGREES ON MONDAY. IN ADDITION TO THE WARMING AIR TEMPERATURES...A
SOUTHERLY BREEZE AND RISING DEW POINTS WILL MAKE FOR A MORE
EFFICIENT MELTING OF THE SNOWPACK.

AT FIRST THE SNOWPACK WILL ABSORB MUCH OF THE WATER FROM THE SNOW
MELT. HOWEVER AS THE SNOWPACK RIPENS...AND WITH THE ADDITION OF A
HALF INCH OR SO OF RAINFALL SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY...THE
POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING WILL RAPIDLY INCREASE.

PEOPLE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO FLOODING...AND WHERE SIGNIFICANT
AMOUNTS OF SNOW FELL SHOULD TAKE TIME IN ADVANCE OF THE WARMING
TO PREPARE FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT FLOODING EARLY NEXT
WEEK. IN ADDITION TO CREEKS AND SMALL STREAMS FLOODING THEIR
BANKS...GENERAL FLOODING IS POSSIBLE ACROSS TOWNS WHERE SEVERAL
FEET OF SNOW FELL. DRAINS MAY BE CLOGGED WITH SNOW AND LEAVES...
AND THE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF SNOW MAY PREVENT WATER FROM DRAINING
EFFICIENTLY.

NYZ010>012-085-220445-
/O.CON.KBUF.FA.A.0008.141123T1800Z-141126T1200Z/
/00000.0.SM.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
NORTHERN ERIE-GENESEE-WYOMING-SOUTHERN ERIE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BUFFALO...BATAVIA...WARSAW...
ORCHARD PARK...SPRINGVILLE
338 PM EST FRI NOV 21 2014

...FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING...

THE FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR

* A PORTION OF WESTERN NEW YORK...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES...GENESEE...NORTHERN ERIE...SOUTHERN ERIE AND
WYOMING.

* FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING.

* SNOW MELT FROM THE RECENT SIGNIFICANT LAKE EFFECT SNOW EVENTS
COMBINED WITH RAINFALL EARLY NEXT WEEK WILL BRING THE
POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT FLOODING.

* SMALLER STREAMS AND CREEKS WILL BE PRONE TO FLOODING FROM SNOW
MELT. THIS WILL INCLUDE THE CREEKS THAT FLOW THROUGH THE BUFFALO
METRO AREA...INCLUDING CAYUGA...BUFFALO...CAZENOVIA AND ELLICOTT
CREEKS. FLOODING IS EVENTUALLY POSSIBLE ON TONAWANDA CREEK...BUT
THIS IS A SLOW RISING CREEK SO IT WOULD NOT REACH CREST UNTIL
THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. TOWNS THAT RECEIVED SIGNIFICANT
AMOUNTS OF SNOW WILL ALSO HAVE POTENTIAL FOR URBAN FLOODING FROM
THE SNOW MELT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING BASED ON
CURRENT FORECASTS. YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE
ALERT FOR POSSIBLE FLOOD WARNINGS. THOSE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO
FLOODING SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLOODING
DEVELOP. STAY TUNED TO WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER RADIO AND TV
STATIONS FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES

Museborn · Nov 22, 2014

A 13th death has been reported. Another man was found in his car. Rest In Peace.

The New York State Thruway was reopened as of yesterday. Many secondary and side roads still have not been plowed.

Many villages and towns in Erie County are still under travel bans. Even in towns that have the travel bans lifted, officials have asked that there be no unnecessary travel. Many businesses and churches are closed this weekend. Red Cross has opened six shelters across Erie County and Western NY. Priority is being given to buildings whose roofs are in danger of collapse.

Officials are very worried about the rise in temperatures today and the possibility of rain starting tomorrow. Five of seven Western NY counties are under a flood watch, as outlined above.

More reports as I get them.

Museborn · Nov 25, 2014

I just thought I would add this picture to this thread. This is a picture of Buffalo from the air during the November Storm "Knife". At the lower right hand corner of the city is the downtown area, with the First Niagara Center, the new Harbor Center, the former HSBC Tower, and the City and County Buildings. The wall that looks like a huge fog is the Lake Effect Storm coming in off of Lake Erie. Sections benieth the storm got the 5-7 feet of snow, while the out sections got a few inches or none at all. I thought this was a great picture that actually shows how the storm moved in. I cannot give credit to the image because I got it off a news website, and I honestly cannot remember which one. Sorry!