1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 26

Postcard detailing the Blizzard of 77, Buffalo NY.

 The Winter of 1977 was cold- darn cold!

  It's got to be why I love snow. 

A record is made.
Chicago Tribune, January 26, 1977.

   40 years ago yesterday, Chicago wasn't able to get above freezing and that marked a record 30-consecutive days that the thermometer's of Windy City weren't able to rise above 31 degrees F. 

     To make matters worse, 40 years ago today, an arctic wave of air began to make it's way into areas of Toronto and the Northeast. Over the next couple of days, wind gusts over 40-69 MPH were documented. On top of that was snow. Lots and lots of snow. As a result, by January 28th, Buffalo would see over 100 inches of snowfall. It was and still is a record. On top of that, snow drifts were measured of up to 40 feet! That's 4 basketball goals high!
    In this day and age, states governments will wait until the last minute to request federal help. But on this day in history, Congress actually was on top of things. Seeing how bad the weather had been and was predicted to be, Congress signed the Emergency Natural Gas Act. Signed the same day it was passed, President Carter allowed areas to declare emergencies that would normally hamper relief efforts. Thus if an area experiences a shortage of fuel, companies and the government can rush in supplies without being charged for transportation taxes and interstate fees.

It snowed so high, in places, kids could actually touch the streetlights.

    But in the case of Buffalo, this act really didn't do very much good. Plows weren't equipped to handle this much snow.  Plus the strong winds blowing off the Great Lakes made it to even when the snowing stopped, any progress made was immediately covered up again. Temps staying below freezing for about another week didn't help either and it would be a solid month before things in the region got back to business as normal.

A home in upstate New York,
almost entirely covered by snow.

    Fun Fact for your geeks out there- this crippling storm is cited as a major reason that DC Comics suffered from a huge sale slump. The publisher was unable to receive artwork on time and it was also late in publishing books to stores nationwide. Another blizzard a year later, didn't help sale any. Thus, by the summer of '78 DC cancelled over a third of it's titles in what is called the DC Implosion.

Firestorm: The Nuclear Man.
A victim of the blizzard and eventual DC Implosion.

    

This sort of thing still happens today. Late last year when a pipeline exploded in Alabama (TWICE!), companies were allowed to make extra deliveries of fuel without penalty as pumps were running out of gas faster than you could count. Just a couple of weeks ago, my state of North Carolina had below freezing temperatures and snow for several days, marking the closing of businesses, cancelling of events and school, and the need for shelters and emergency service reserves being activated. It was actually pretty early for us to get snow this year and I hope that wasn't our only dose of it! 

   Come On Blizzard!!!