It’s been a cold, long winter living in Buffalo, New York this year. We’ve seen minus 18 regular temperatures and wind chill temperatures down to minus 30. I took pictures for proof and to remember how unbelievably bitter cold it was. Buffalo has had 2 separate blizzards along with many snowfalls totaling over 120 inches of snow for the winter season in 2014. We’ve had so many below zero days, I’ve lost count. Mountain size heaping mounds of snow take over sights in many mall and shopping parking lots. Radio stations took polls on whether or not the huge snow piles would melt by April or May. Several people were impressed that their cars actually started some days when it was so dangerously cold that your skin took awhile to warm up indoors and your bones took hours. Since I worked outdoors more than half of the day, I can remember coming home and making hot chocolate. I sipped that and ate dinner. In the evening after dinner, my bones were still not all warmed up yet.
This winter hasn’t been one that you want to remember, but it will definitely be one that will be hard to forget. It was named by several meteorologists to be the 5th coldest Buffalo winter season in the history of recordkeeping and who knows how long that is. It could be 100 years maybe 1000 years. It doesn’t matter, that’s a long time.
The local kids, mine included, have had 5 snow days which is another record from what I can remember. I know that I usually was granted only 1 or 2 snow days per school year. The schools were cancelled as early as dinner time the night before. The local school superintendent explained in an interview, “Our guidelines for cancelling school and using a snow day are anywhere from minus 15 to minus 20 wind chill temperatures. ” “That would jeopardize the safety of the children.” He said,” We usually allow for 3 snow days per winter.” Well I think we blew threw those before February started.
I usually don’t come in close contact with my grandma’s mail carrier, but I was outside one day this winter during one of those subzero minus 11 wind chill days. As I was leaving, the mail carrier came to deliver her mail and gestured to hand over the stack of mail order magazines to me. I took her pile of junk mail inside to her and said ” thank you.” I noticed as he was walking away, without a response back, probably because he was too cold and almost frozen. He had a miniature icicle hanging from his thick brown mustache. “Wow”, unbelievable I’ve never seen that before, I thought.
I know it could’ve been worse from everyone in the family getting about 5 colds each since the start of the school year, but it was one of the most difficult Buffalo winters to get through in many years. I was so desperate to go outside and cook on the grill that I cooked some hamburgers and hot dogs when it was a warm 38 degrees. I didn’t care, it was kind of warm a couple of inches away from the grill and I didn’t stay out to watch the food just came back and flipped it. There’s nothing like cooking on the grill, it just makes the food look better, smell better and taste better. Who knows, maybe they will change our seasons in Buffalo to summer, fall, winter, winter because who knows when and if spring will show up.
