In late January 1977, New York state's neurobiological science was challenged by meteorology with an anomalous blizzard or ground blizzard that moved snow from Lake Erie into Buffalo using sustained winds of near hurricane speeds (69 miles per hour). Normally, when it snows, clouds supply the snow that accumulates on the ground from the sky. In this case, wind helped to max out total snowfall at or over 45 feet in Buffalo and to produce whiteouts or zero visibility in Buffalo.
This event demonstrated it is possible for a blizzard to occur without actually adding new snowflakes to the accumulation of snow on the ground since there were significant amounts already present. By demonstrating that snowfall could occur as a result of using powerful winds to transport previously falling or formed snow particles, this event further demonstrated that weather is not necessarily dependent on new material, but solely dependent on moving pre-existing materials in the environment. This massive displacement of snow paralyzed the region, forcing a redefinition of disaster response and urban planning for extreme winter weather.
