A look back at the 'wall of snow' in November 2014

Two years ago this week, parts of Western New York were buried with a life-threatening seven feet of snow, while other places got a few inches or none at all. The News asked readers on Facebook to share stories and photos of the November 2014 storms. Conor Deubell of South Buffalo: The attached file is a picture of me, my

Not even the most grizzled blizzard veteran could have imagined what the next six days had in store as back-to-back devastating – but discriminating – lake-effect storms paralyzed a portion of the

Portions of the region will wake up to everything from a thick blanket of white to heavy lake-effect snowfall, which the National Weather Service projects could fall at ‘rates of 3-5 inches per

Major routes affected by the lake-effect

An unrelenting lake-effect snowstorm that pummeled areas from South Buffalo to Alden to Hamburg with up to 6 feet of snow in 24 hours is responsible for at least four deaths, authorities

From the 28th-floor observation deck at Buffalo City Hall late Tuesday morning, the view told the story of the fickleness of lake-effect snow. Looking south, the clouds above Lake Erie were shades of gray and moving swiftly at an angle, like a curtain being drawn. As those clouds moved ashore, that curtain stretched toward the east, obscuring the landscape.

More lake-effect snow expected for hardest-hit

Patty Widmer promised herself that she wouldn’t smoke in her new car. But Widmer can be forgiven for breaking that vow Tuesday, especially since her car became her home as she rode out the storm in a gas station parking lot. Widmer, 61, left her production job at ITT Enidine in Orchard Park shortly after her shift ended around

By midday Tuesday, 4 feet of snow had fallen in Alden and Cheektowaga. Lancaster, Elma and West Seneca were only inches behind – and the snow was still falling. More than 30 inches had fallen in Hamburg and Orchard Park – not enough to even crack the Top 5 town snowfalls. Even the normally staid National Weather Service described

Five people have died as a result of the snowstorm. Three succumbed, apparently from heart problems, two while shoveling deep snow. Another was killed while attempting to push car out of a drift. A fifth was found dead in vehicle buried in

At least 100 cars and trucks remain stuck on

Heavy snow brought down the roof at a former Rosa’s superstore early today in Cheektowaga, damaging one of the warehouses for a Christmas retailer’s Internet operation at its busiest time of the year. The roof collapse at the warehouse for Dave Gordon’s christmascentral.com business also resulted in a natural gas leak that led a neighboring health care facility about

There was only one reasonable reaction to the sight of the sky in downtown Buffalo the afternoon of Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014:

Stranded nurse, others come to rescue as mother goes iinto labor in South

Narendra Gill was shoveling out his tractor-trailer when a stranger walked up out of the blue Wednesday and asked if he needed anything. Gill said no, he just wanted to get his truck back on the road. When the stranger persisted, Gill, who’s from Toronto, acknowledged he didn’t know who the visitor was. “I’m New York’s No. 1 trucker,” said

Drivers dispute Cuomo’s contention that they ‘violated the closure of the

Death toll rises to 12; State agencies, National Guard and Red Cross pitch in to help; and local and federal officials lay groundwork for a disaster declaration that would provide reimbursement to counties in grip of massive

After a wall of snow buried neighborhoods and towns from South Buffalo to Alden, another lake-effect storm blew in overnight, with another 2 feet over Erie County’s snow-smothered heart by the end of

Day 3 of The Storm brings tales of creativity, kindness and

By midafternoon Wednesday, a gray twilight fell upon the Cheektowaga-Lancaster border as storm clouds began to drop more snow in a neighborhood walloped perhaps the hardest by the colossal late-autumn snowstorm. “Here comes Round Two,” said a weary 21-year-old Muki Huzejrovic of Losson Road. He paused from shoveling his parents’ driveway and pointed a frustrated finger at the dark

Distributors are facing difficulties delivering

Roofs caved in under the unbearable weight of 5, 6 even 7 feet of snow. Food was scarce, people were running out of medicine. And the death toll from back-to-back blasts of a historic lake-effect storm rose to

Widow says husband called to say: ‘I’ll probably be home a little late. The weather’s not

Family-operated business in Eden Valley loses millions of dollars in damage to plants and

While Trish Ambrose was outside with her neighbors clearing driveways and cutting paths to doorways, her Twitter photo of the shared effort was going around the world. “We just saw it was posted in Germany and Finland,” Ambrose said Friday afternoon when she came inside to warm up with some soup. “It’s been fun figuring out all the different

Stories illustrate how WNY residents and visitors dealt with dire

“It was surreal. It was just silent for hours. Nobody came. And my phone had died. I couldn’t charge it because I’d taken my daughter’s car to

Tami Diestler wasn’t asleep for more than an hour Thursday morning when a thunderous boom woke her and her husband, sending them racing to the basement as their Alden home cracked and sagged and fell around

Help and humor continue to bring people

The image went around the country – and beyond – and became a face of the storm. The News recently tracked down the shoveler it depicted as part of efforts to mark the six-month anniversary of the double-lake effect

Lessons of time – and how some of the things it brings can only be dealt with, never erased. Lessons of grief, as families remember loved ones who were taken so suddenly, in such startling

Five years ago, we were in the crux of documenting the storm — collecting photos, stories, snow tallies and even memes. Today, we’re still collecting your