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Dave Thurlow, Host

 
Hi, I'm Dave Thurlow from the Mount Washington Observatory and this is The Weather Notebook. Buffalo, New York is known for its snow especicially during the early winter, when the unfrozen Great Lakes provide moisture for localized blizzards. As Weather Notebook correspondent Mike McKay explains, people in Buffalo were hit hard this year, but survived thanks to some help from the military:

Mike: "As the New Year began, Buffalo found itself dealing with 15 straight days of heavy snowfall. Nearly 60 inches fell during that time. That's well above the average for January. With so much already on the ground and more continuing to fall, city snowplow drivers were forced to put in 16-hour days and still couldn't get the job done. Small mountains of snow clogged main thoroughfares and choked off neighborhood side streets.

That's when New York state Governor George Pataki stepped in and activated the National Guard. The emergency declaration paved the way for the Army National Guard to move in and attack the situation with heavy earth moving equipment. Buffalo resident Janet Smith praised the Guard for rescuing her neighborhood:"

Janet Smith: "Side streets were inpassable for a long time. Almost a week. This is wonderful! In forty-five minutes it's all scraped down. We needed this.I live two miles from work and I took my life in my own hands just getting to work and back."

Mike: "Buffalo and its surrounding suburbs spent nearly 8 million dollars to remove the snow during that two week period, but residents like Janet Smith are willing to overlook the price tag as long as the streets are clear."

Mike McKay is a news producer at Weather Notebook affiliate station WBFO in Buffalo. Funding for our show comes from Subaru and the National Science Foundation.