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Zman6258 t1_j1v2hjx wrote

Buffalo native here. Wasn't around back in '77 but I absolutely remember Snowvember 2014, and even though we had to bring in the National Guard with bucket loaders because plows couldn't cut through six feet of snow, people were just out and about the moment they could get out of their driveway. We've dealt with snow, and so many people that I know figured this was just gonna be another snowstorm.

The real killer was the cold, but more specifically, it was the wind. We don't regularly get 60mph winds even during storms, and wind chill that intense is a whole different kind of cold. Normally I'm sweating by the time I finish snowblowing when I wear boots, snow pants, and a jacket over shorts and a t-shirt; this time around, had to add flannel pajamas and a hoodie to the rest and I still had to take a break halfway through to warm up. So many other people felt the same way, until they got out and the wind was just sapping heat like nobody's business and blowing snow almost completely horizontal.

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Famous1107 t1_j1v79yl wrote

That wind did not stop for three days. Going out there to clear drifts on my furnace pipes. Just got the chills thinking about it. Your right with the wind. The wind created a white out condition, where you could not see a foot Infront of your face.

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Muscled_Daddy t1_j1vzsu5 wrote

You basically just had a C1 hurricane parked on you for half a week. That’s insane.

Here in Toronto - We also got the cold and some of the wind. But nothing like you all across the lake. Absolute insanity.

And its all going to melt next weekend when it hits 55F+ for us… which means the lake won’t freeze so more insanity is coming.

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TechyDad t1_j1w9c5v wrote

>And its all going to melt next weekend when it hits 55F+ for us… which means the lake won’t freeze so more insanity is coming.

This is what some people don't realize when they say "global warming can't be real because look at all that snow!" Setting aside that weather isn't climate, warmer weather can actually mean more snow - especially in places like Buffalo. If the lakes froze over, lake effect snow would be lessened. (I don't know if it would have helped in this storm specifically, just talking generally.) However, with warmer weather, the lakes don't freeze which means more lake effect snow.

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deucetastic t1_j1wyhw8 wrote

absolutely wouldn’t have had as much snow, but the lake never really freezes this early anyway…. Mediterranean of the North America, coming to a Great Lake near you

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random20190826 t1_j1wufsz wrote

Fellow GTA resident here. On December 23, the day started as a rainy day, barely above freezing. Then, things got bad, with the snow and wind. I am WFH, but my mother and sister work outside the home. School was cancelled for all kids in York Region on that day.

You know what I was terrified of? If the power went out, we would have been dead. I don't have a backup generator, and even though I have a gas-based heating system, the controls run on electricity. If the power goes out, no amount of gas can heat my home. Fortunately, the power was never disrupted.

In storms like this, things that cause mass deaths are power outages and car accidents. Low visibility due to blowing snow. Car crashes haven taken multiple lives in multiple states and in BC.

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Muscled_Daddy t1_j1wyfqx wrote

You would die?! Do you live in an older house? We haven’t even turned heat on in our condo yet. We have the fan for circulation but our building is so over insulated that we don’t really experience a ton of heat loss.

If you’re at risk of dying from the cold from a power outage you absolutely need emergency supplies - like a kerosene space heater, hand warmers, and investment in a generator (if you own a home). If you’re seriously at that big a risk of dying from the cold in your own home… please, please prepare for the worst.

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random20190826 t1_j1xauxx wrote

Well, the home is not old. It was built in 2006.

How did you manage to survive without heat when it was -10C outside?

Power outages are rare enough where if they happen, we can stay at a hotel.

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sea_bird t1_j1xmijy wrote

I'm in Buffalo and we didn't have power or heat for 36 hours. It sucked and we were cold, but I can assure you we're not dead.

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PlumLion t1_j1z7ir6 wrote

People are downvoting you and telling you you’re wrong, but not really giving you any suggestions. I’ve been through extended power outages in extreme cold several times and I can tell you that once your instinct to keep warm kicks in you start finding ways to stay warm enough to get by.

Everybody wears extra clothing and you make a big all-family (and pets) blanket fort in the warmest small room in the house. You hang heavy blankets or tablecloths or whatever you have over windows to keep the heat in, but if you get any reasonable amount of sunshine you pull the cloths off those windows to take advantage of solar heat gain. You start digging around in the junk drawer to find those disposable hand heaters you bought for watching your kids football games. If you have a gas cooktop you make endless cups of tea and hot chocolate and find excuses to bake bread and huge pans of lasagna. You discover that a jar candle can bring the temperature of a small room up by several degrees, so you keep one lit in a secure spot whenever there’s an adult awake to keep an eye on it. You eat a lot of carbs and keep everyone moving to stay warm.

I’m not telling you it doesn’t really suck, but you become resourceful really fast

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SynthFrog t1_j1xtxio wrote

Tons of people suffered without power for days (including my brother). As cold as it was, it wasn't cold enough to be a death sentence for most people without heat (inside a building). So I wouldn't day you'd definitely be dead. Still a scary and dangerous situation though. That's just for the lack of heat alone. Of course there are so many other dangers with being stuck in a home with no power.

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MontyAtWork t1_j1vsnxd wrote

I cannot imagine that level of cold. I did the Grayson Highlands November of last year and at night the winds were probably 40mph at 20° or so, and that was the coldest I've ever experienced. Coming back from that trip I had to rethink my entire cold weather backpacking and layering system to include outer wind break layers, which I'd never needed in other 20° times.

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osiris775 t1_j1w4se8 wrote

I've always been curious about world population and the expansion of human kind on earth. I am not trying to be insensitive to current conditions. As a California native, I've always wondered how people live where they live. Phoenix. Buffalo. Minnesota. Las Vegas.

Like...why did people CHOOSE to live there?

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SpaceMonkeyOnABike t1_j1w6vmw wrote

>Like...why did people CHOOSE to live there?

For cold places it was often the availability of red meat and hides of animals. Both of which are valuable for human development.

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osiris775 t1_j1w80zu wrote

I understand that part. But a place like Las Vegas is literally a created city. I understand the nefarious underground, but eventually, 2mill+ still had to CHOOSE to be there. The populations of humanity, and again, not to be insensitive to circumstances, it has always been a curiosity as to...not how humans ended up where they are. But WHY are humans still where they are

Maybe I'm asking an evolutionary question?

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Kjartanski t1_j1wrok6 wrote

Because by leveraging the resources of other areas, such as water, and power for cooling, it was made liveable, and then sustained by economic activity using those resources

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thirstyross t1_j1xadf0 wrote

> But a place like Las Vegas is literally a created city

What city isn't a "created city"? Think the answer is the same for any city.

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Alcopaulics t1_j1xdiqr wrote

Nah every other city, people just coincidentally arranged themselves in a grid. It was bizarre

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osiris775 t1_j1xjcy7 wrote

Yes. But there was choice and reason. San Francisco, for example was built on the gold rush.

I understand there are nuances. What I have always been curious about is (Phoenix as example), why would you MOVE here?
Humans are amazing creatures. Most of history teaches us that civilizations are close to water and fertile land. That makes sense

I've been to Dallas/Fort worth/Arlington area several years in a row for job training. The local people didn't understand how I could live in Cali. We have earthquakes. I couldn't understand how/why they live in Texas. They have tornado "SEASON "

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of-matter t1_j1wt64r wrote

Buffalo and Niagara falls used to be centers for heavy industry. Logging, steel manufacturing, chemical manufacturing were all huge industries there.

If you're asking about why groups of people have different personal preferences, I'd have to assume it's related to our ability as a species to adapt to different environments.

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SynthFrog t1_j1xvuhy wrote

>As a California native, I've always wondered how people live where they live. >Phoenix. Buffalo. Minnesota. Las Vegas. > >Like...why did people CHOOSE to live there?

You can say that about anywhere though. Parts of the west coast have have wild fires, volcanoes, droughts, earthquakes. And just for the states in general, you also have tornados, hurricanes, blizzards. There's freezing temps, really hot temps, high humidity. Some areas have more dangerous wildlife. Each area has it's pros and cons, so I thinks it's just a case of people learning to adapt to the cons to have access to the pros.

For a historic point of view about why people would live in the Buffalo/Niagara region... the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal.

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Zman6258 t1_j1x133x wrote

Cheap housing, right next to the border, decent amount of finance sector and manufacturing jobs.

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