Photos: Wintry scenes from Buffalo-area snowstorm - November 2022
From the Looking back at Buffalo's memorable November storms series
From the Southtowns to Niagara County, Buffalo News staff has been out and about to gauge the impact of the winter storm.
Footprints at Chapin Parkway
Footprints in the snow on Chapin Parkway in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 2022.
Fire hydrant
A painted marker show where a fire hydrant is buried in front of a home on East Quaker Street in Orchard Park Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Where's the house?
A home is surrounded by snow on Forest Avenue in Orchard Park Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Buried garbage can
A garbage can buried in snow in the Village of Orchard Park, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Snow piles
Snow is piled on the sides of Forest Avenue in Orchard Park, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
ECC snow pile
Crews truck snow in to dump in the parking lot of ECC South Campus in Orchard Park, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Big equipment
Crews truck snow in to dump in the parking lot of ECC South Campus in Orchard Park, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Wegmans
Cranes are being used to lift the snow off the roof at the Wegmans on McKinley Parkway in Hamburg, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Blowing and drifting snow
Cars drive through blowing a drifting snow on McKinley Parkway in Hamburg, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Picking up some supplies
Shawn Heeter walked to the Tops on South Park Avenue for some groceries in Hamburg, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Icicles
Icicles hang off the front of a house on Lake Street in Hamburg, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Hamburg residents
Andrew Rettig and Ivana Perez stand in front of Barymiller's Lanes in Hamburg Sunday, November 20, 2022.
Closed Route 219
The entrance to Route 219 is closed at New Armor Duells Road in Orchard Park, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Braymiller's Lanes
The side of Braymiller's Lanes is leaning toward the building next door in Hamburg on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Braymiller's Lanes damage
The damaged side of Braymiller's Lanes on Buffalo Street in Hamburg, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Clearing the roads
A snowplow clears New Armor Duells Road in Orchard Park Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Stranded car
A stranded car snowed in on New Armor Duells Road in Orchard Park, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
First responders
First responders make their way on Buffalo Street in Hamburg Sunday, November 20, 2022.
Snowbody circles the wagons like our Bills
A resident on Thorn Avenue puts a Bills sign in front of their house in Orchard Park Sunday, November 20, 2022.
Stranded truck
A truck parked on the exit ramp from Route 219 at New Armor Road in Orchard Park Sunday, November 20, 2022.
Cleaning the sidewalk
Reflected in a window, Manjit Bath clears the sidewalk of packed snow in front of India Gate restaurant on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 2022.
Sunny snow clearing
George Pattison finishes up cleaning off and digging out his car on Forest Avenue in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 2022.
Hitting a rail at Hoyt Lake
Ollie Wright hits a rail off of a homemade snow kicker built by friends near Hoyt Lake in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 2022.
Sledders at Delaware Park
Families enjoy sledding at Delaware Park in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 2022.
Wind-carved snow
Wind carves snow into a small ridge at Hoyt Lake in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 2022.
Skiing at Hoyt Lake
David Frothingham cross-country skis along Hoyt Lake in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 2022.
Building a kicker
Ollie Wright, left, watches as CJ Lanahan, center, and Dan Edick work on creating a snow kicker for a rail at Hoyt Lake in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 2022.
Wintry canoes
Artist Nancy Rubin's large canoe statue, brushed with snow after last night's lake-effect storm, at Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 2022.
Cross-country skiing in the city
David Magavern cross-country skis along Lincoln Parkway in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 2022.
A sled commute
Eric Wettlaufer pulls Grant Wettlaufer, 5, as Natalie Hofert-Wettlaufer pulls Quinn Wettlaufer, 3, on sleds across Forest Avenue in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 2022.
Small snowman
A small snowman sits in a small mound of new snow in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 2022.
Digging out
A front-end loader clears the snow on Crescent Drive in Orchard Park, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022.
A time to play
Theo Napor, left, and his sister Avery and father, Rich, play on a pile of snow at their home in Orchard Park, Nov. 19, 2022.
Helping hands
Jessica Joy, center, gets some help shoveling her driveway in Orchard Park, Nov. 19, 2022.
A leaf in the snow
A yellow maple leaf sits on the top of the the snow in Orchard Park, Nov. 19, 2022.
Making sandwiches
Dan Khangi of Beerz Food Shop makes approximately 200 sandwiches for first responders at his shop in Orchard Park, Nov. 19, 2022. The store was still open but operating with limited electric service.
Winter wonderland
A pedestrian walks through a winter wonderland in the Village of Orchard Park, Nov. 19, 2022.
Snow, snow and more snow
People venture out through the snow on Armor Duells Road in Orchard Park, Nov. 19, 2022.
Rough road
Cars travel on snowy Jewett Holmwood Road in Orchard Park, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022.
Snowy drive
A car travels with piles of snow still on it on Routes 277/240 in Orchard Park, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022.
Buried cars
Snow-buried cars in the Elmwood neighborhood in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
A good neighbor
Drew Szurczynski shovels out a car in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022. Having already dug out his own vehicle, Szurczynski was motivated to help out a neighbor.
Snowmobile ramp
A truck with a snowmobile ramp in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Clearing the car
Al Antolin clears his car of snow in the Elmwood neighborhood of Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Statuesque in snow
A statue in Buffalo, painted with snow in the Elmwood neighborhood in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Snowy flora
Berries and vines delicately collect snow in the Elmwood neighborhood in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Shovel spray
Zach Brown shovels his walk in the Elmwood neighborhood in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Wind-whipped trees
Blowing snow whips past evergreen trees on the West Side in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Clearing the walk
Ahmed Osman shovels his walk on the West Side in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Pup enthusiasm
Alex Lane walks his dog, Niay, a German shepherd mix, through the snow on the West Side in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Driving ban
A driving ban is keeping most cars off the road, but a postal truck makes its way down Grant Street in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Disgruntled lion
Snow blocks a door, with its lion painting seeming to disapprove of the snow, at a corner store on Grant Street in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Coating of leaves
Fallen leaves coat fresh snow in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022. Though there are feet of snow on the ground, many of the trees still retain their leaves, and lake-effect winds are bringing more of them down.
Hotel Henry through the snow
Flurries blur the air, but the Hotel Henry, center, is still visible from the Elmwood neighborhood of Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Playful neighbors
Neighbors Stephan Davis, left, and Star Haynes playfully spray one another with their snowblowers in the Elmwood neighborhood of Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Little explorer
Auggie Rokitka, 2, adventures in the snow with his parents, Matt Rokitka and Krissy Godios, on Richmond Avenue in Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022. Rokitka and Godios said they started out playing in the yard, but Auggie wanted to explore.
Lake-effect snow hits the City of Buffalo
With the sidewalks partially blocked, a man walks in the middle of the street in the Elmwood neighborhood of Buffalo, Nov. 19, 2022.
Lake-effect clouds
An aerial view of Buffalo from the West Side shows the sky containing the lake-effect band that has been dumping snow throughout the Southtowns, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Elmwood Village in snow
An aerial view of homes in the Elmwood Village after a fresh coat of snow and before the lake-effect band moved back into the city, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
A workout
David Benz, an engineer for Herman Badillo Community School, strains to turn his snowblower, clearing a path outside the school on Elmwood in downtown Buffalo, Nov. 18, 2022.
Snow clouds
Dark clouds hover over bright water at Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo, Nov. 18, 2022.
Snow fort weather
Zyair Spain, 11, builds a fort wall in a large snowbank in the Larkin District in Buffalo, Nov. 18, 2022.
Cleaning out fire hydrants
Firefighters Owen O’Neill, left, and Jackson Brown dig out a fire hydrant in the Larkin District in Buffalo, Nov. 18, 2022.
Welcome to Buffalo Street
A snow-covered sign at the corner of Crescent Drive and South Buffalo Street in Orchard Park on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Stopping at Beerz
The snow starts to inch up on a Josh Allen cutout in the window of Beerz Food Shop in Orchard Park, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Bills weather
A Bills flag flies in the wind and snow in Orchard Park, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Cleaning the driveway
Charlie Benfanti, right, and his father Bill, left, clear the snow from their driveway in Orchard Park, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Snow day
Jackson and Brayden Quill build a snow fort at their home in Orchard Park, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Snowy morning in Buffalo
A view of a snow-covered Buffalo on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
November snowstorm
A view of a snowy day in Buffalo seen from the seventh floor of the Ambassador Apartments on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Lots of snow
Cars are covered in snow in a parking lot in Buffalo on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
A snow-covered road
Snow covers the trees in Orchard Park on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Snow crews at work
Crews work to clear the roads in the Village of Orchard Park on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Cleaning out
Joe Fruscione clears the snow from his driveway in Orchard Park on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Roof raking
Ben Wilson clears his roof of nearly 2 feet of snow at his home in Orchard Park on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Making a path
Jim Kane clears his driveway with a snow blower in Orchard Park on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
More snow
Snow continues to pound Hamburg on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022
Not road ready
A car is covered with snow in the Southtowns on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
A peaceful scene
Snow continues to fall in Orchard Park as a lake-effect storm wallops parts of Western New York on on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Snow cycle
Snow accumulates next to a recycling bin in Hamburg on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Hamburg snow
Mike Duggan tries to keep up with the snow, with the help of his canine companion Quinn on Woodrich Court in Hamburg on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
November snow
Nicholas Harelick removes snow in Buffalo on Nov. 18, 2022. Harelick spent the day clearing off roads and sidewalks so his neighbors would have a place to walk and drive.
Getting a car out
Andoria Wilson and Alease Jeffries use their feet to shovel away snow so Andoria can have space to drive her car in Buffalo, Nov. 18, 2022.
Plows at work
The road crews are out doing their thing in Buffalo, Nov. 18, 2022.
A snowy walk
A pedestrian walks a dog on Crescent Drive in Orchard Park, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
Fleeing geese
Geese fly over new snowfall blanketing the city of Buffalo at midday on November 18, 2022.
Eyes on the sky
David Niedbala of Sloan, a landscape photographer and self-described weather nerd from Sloan, trekked out to the tower at the marina in search of photos of the wall of snow in Buffalo, November 18, 2022. “This is Snowvember 2.0. Without a doubt,” he said.
Snowy city
New snowfall blankets the city of Buffalo, shortly after 11:30 a.m. on November 18, 2022.
Working to clear the driveway
Christopher Middlebrooks and his son, Mitchell Middlebrooks, work to clear their driveway in the Larkin district in Buffalo, November 18, 2022.
Buried bison in Buffalo
A bison statue buried in snow in the early afternoon in the Seneca-Babcock neighborhood of Buffalo, November 18, 2022.
Walking home in a snow globe
Rachel Grigsby tries to steady her daughter, Mia Grigsby, 9, as she climbs over a snowbank, heading home from a trip to the corner store in the Seneca-Babcock neighborhood of Buffalo, November 18, 2022.
Snow clearing at Larkin at Exchange
A parking lot at Larkin at Exchange is cleared of snow in Buffalo, November 18, 2022.
Stuck at Bailey and William
Ploe Kaw struggles to drive his car out of accumulated snow at the intersection at Bailey and William Street in Buffalo, November 18, 2022. Kaw lives on the West Side and is trying to get home.
Good Samaritans
Hakim Grant removes a chain from his truck as Kevin Jones, left, Brandon Burt, center, and Karim Abdullah assess the snow situation around Ploe Kaw's car at Bailey and William Street in Buffalo, Nov. 18, 2022. Grant and his friends pulled over when they saw Kaw, who lives on the West Side, stuck in the snow.
Getting a tire replaced before more snow
Keilany Rosado, 13, waits with her mother Jackline Acevedo, preparing to leave King Tire after getting a front tire replaced in Buffalo, Nov. 18, 2022. The family live in Black Rock, but said they traveled all the way to the East Side because they could not find any other car shops open closer.
Alone in a snowy neighborhood
A lone person wades through the snow with a shovel in the Larkin district as heavy clouds loom in the sky in Buffalo, November 18, 2022.
Waiting to dump snow
A truck waits in line to deposit snow in a massive pile behind the City of Buffalo Engineering Garage in Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022. A front loader has been busily pushing the snow back higher and higher to make room for more loads of snow.
Massive city snow pile
A front loader pushes snow back higher and higher to make room for more truckloads of snow behind the City of Buffalo Engineering Garage in Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022. A line of trucks is steadily bringing more loads of snow to be discarded.
Truckloads of snow
A truck dumps a load of snow as a front loader pushes snow back higher and higher to make room for more truckloads of snow behind the City of Buffalo Engineering Garage in Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022. A line of trucks is steadily bringing more loads of snow to be discarded.
Father and son snowventure
Greyson Luu, 8, plays on a snowbank as his dad, Bruce Luu, works on clearing their driveway in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022. Bruce Luu said he had put in twelve to thirteen hours of shoveling over the last couple of days, since Saturday.
Digging out
Amadu Brockett works to reveal his car in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022. Ironically, Brockett works plowing snow in Clarence, but he has not been able to leave his home in days.
Obscured cars
Cars buried in snow on Riverview Place in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022.
Clearing the car
Josephine Pastor smiles as she clears snow off the top of her car, chatting with a neighbor in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022.
Snowed in
Snow buries a walkway at a home in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022.
Four hours of shoveling
Steve Lipka shovels his driveway in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022. Lipka said he had been shoveling for four hours already today.
Stuck Jeep
Moments after getting their Jeep stuck, Taylor Roberts, right, and Nick Szlis assess what to do in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022. Some of the neighbors on the street expressed anger that Roberts and Szlis attempted to drive down their unplowed road.
Embedded
Tom Kohler, left, and Dom Camilloni watch from their porch as Amadu Brockett, left, helps Taylor Roberts, center right, and Nick Szlis try to dig out their Jeep only hours after Kohler and Camilloni had spent hours digging out another car stuck in the same spot, in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022.
Looking out
Eli Camilloni, 8, peers out the window, watching people try to dig out a Jeep on his street in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022.
Snowy disagreements
Taylor Roberts, center, runs a borrowed snowblower and Nick Szlis shovels underneath his Jeep, attempting to dig out in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022. People in the neighborhood had spent hours earlier in the day digging out another car from the same spot where Szlis and Roberts got stuck. Several neighbors on the street were angry that their street was now blocked again. One neighbor, at right, used his snowblower to blow snow back onto Szlis' Jeep.
Buried door
As snow is removed from a car in the driveway, a home's front door remains snowed in in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022.
A snow king
Tom McNally poses for an impromptu portrait in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022. McNally said he has made $300 shoveling people's cars out of the snow.
Massive snowbanks
Massive snowbanks obscure Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022.
Diligent diggers
Angie Mootz and her husband, Neil Mootz, work to dig out and clear off Angie's mother Eleanor Kramer's car as Kramer watches, at left, in Lackawanna, Nov. 21, 2022. The Mootzes drove in from Angola to help Kramer with her buried car.
More snow removal
Dennis Lopez clears off a car after working with his friend, Berto Rondon, to dig it out of the snow in Lackawanna, Nov. 21, 2022.
Buried street in South Buffalo
Riverview Place is partially cleared, but mostly still buried in snow, awaiting plows in South Buffalo, Nov. 21, 2022.
In this Series
Looking back at Buffalo's memorable November storms
When significant snowstorms hit Western New York, the TV news departments send reporters outside to brave the elements, put them in cars to show what’s happening on the roads and send them to supermarkets.
Around 11:30 a.m., with no cars or SUVs in sight, two snowmobiles zoomed south in Lake View along Route 5, a normally busy thoroughfare.
"We had about 2 feet in the northern part of the town, around a foot in the southern, so there's been quite a difference," Supervisor Melissa Hartman said.
Liz Jurkowski of the National Weather Service said the existing record for a two-day total of snow in Erie County is 51 inches measured 19 miles west of West Seneca during the snowstorm Nov. 17-19, 2014.
Late Friday afternoon, the Evans Center Volunteer Fire Company at 8298 Erie Road opened its doors to stranded motorists. Here are some of their stories.
About 150 National Guard members have been deployed to the Buffalo area to help respond to the storm, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
Much of the attention will likely be in the hardest-hit areas, such as Orchard Park, Evans, Lackawanna and Hamburg, where travel bans remain in place, noted Dan Neaverth, the county's commissioner of emergency services. Many school districts already have announced closures for Monday as the cleanup continues.
The wreckage from this year’s storm was evident in Orchard Park, which no doubt set a one-day snowfall record of 77 inches on Friday, once that amount is confirmed by the state climatologist.
Sunday's weather finally offered enough of a reprieve for crews to put a dent in the massive cleanup effort.
Without a southward disruption of a portion of the polar vortex, our storm could not have happened, Paul says.
Major snows in the days before Thanksgiving are relatively rare, but always memorable.
Downed power lines. Snowplows stuck. And strangers helping one another. Here's how some Western New Yorkers weathered the storm.
Law enforcement officers wrote 300-plus tickets through Friday evening to drivers who violated travel bans during a lake-effect snowstorm that dropped 5 feet of snow in a day in some places.
“No roads are plowed, and if they were, they’re covered again, which is making it terrible for us,” Matt Duggan said Friday morning as he drove to meet one of his plow drivers who was jammed in the snow.
