# Snow--4 to 6 Feet: Western New Yorkers: How Do You Deal with It?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [November 19, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045 "2014-11-19T04:16:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/1 "2014-11-19T04:16:38Z")
> [@](#):
>
> At least four deaths are being blamed on a storm that’s dumped more than 4 feet of snow in western New York…
> The National Weather Service warns that the snow, generated by cold air blowing over the warmer Great Lakes, will continue through Wednesday and could eventually total 6 feet in places.
> **[Storm blamed for at least 4 deaths in upstate New York](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-pummeled-by-lake-effect-snow-state-highway-closed/)**
>
> Temperatures in all 50 states fell to freezing or below Tuesday; snow will continue and could top 6 feet in some parts of New York state
[Includes video]
That’s about two years worth of snow where I live. So, how do you deal with it, western New Yorkers? A few inches of snow wears me out shoveling it.
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### Author:  [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/2 "2014-11-19T17:09:39Z")
Snow blowers and FWD, along with working through the build up slowly. Just for safety reasons, you don’t, or shouldn’t, go from being a couch potato to shoveling heavy snow. We WNYers don’t usually get 4 ft of snow overnight, either. You get a more manageable amount that falls daily, and you stay on top of things so it doesn’t build up in your driveway.
I’m not sure what happened to those four people, but there were travel bans and advisories in place, so there really wasn’t much reason for the people who were already home to go out and shovel snow. It’s going to be in the high 40s in a few days, so the mountains of snow won’t last.
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### Author:  [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/3 "2014-11-19T17:27:09Z")
What happens to those people stranded on the highway, do they pull the folks out and drive em to a motel and tow the vehicles to a designated spot for pick up later ?
Declan
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### Author:  [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/4 "2014-11-19T17:31:34Z")
What Omega said.
I’m not in NY, but we get tons of snow during a VERY long winter season. If you don’t keep up with it, you are pretty much SOL.
I’ve a plow truck that I keep chained up on all four wheels. I also have a small diesel 4x4 end loader. My wife and I each drive 4x4’s. There is no other way where we live (I could manage without the tractor, but it’s great for other stuff too).
My ‘neighbors’ down the road are out of town for 10 days. I’ve dug them out once, and will do so again tonight. At least a path with the tractor. Like I said, you have to keep up with it. And it would suck to come home from a vacation in Mexico to 4 feet of snow in your steep 100 yard long drive.
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/5 "2014-11-19T18:53:29Z")
When I lived in the Detroit area, if you didn’t have a snow blower, or couldn’t be bothered to shovel, there always seemed no shortage of kids looking to earn an extra bit of cash. Most of the time I could count on them going door-to-door on the houses whose driveways had a virgin blanket of snow, and I’d toss 'em a $20.
Also, plenty of landscaping or lawn-service crews seem to refit for the winter season, and will plow your drive come a strong snowstorm. At least that’s what my old service did.
But even then, sometimes you just had to suck it up and shovel or snowblow on your own.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/6 "2014-11-19T20:24:59Z")
So how high are the piles on either side of the driveway after a 4-6 foot snowstorm?
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### Author:  [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/7 "2014-11-19T20:41:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> So how high are the piles on either side of the driveway after a 4-6 foot snowstorm?
It’s going to be different for different types of snow. AND if it’s accumulations from months of snow. I can only explain my situation.
I have a steep drive with some good drop offs that I can push the snow over the edge with the plow. But it always gets to the point where the plow can’t push it any more. It’s piled up below, and you don’t dare drive the front wheels over the packed snow to push it further out. Also, in many spots, the plowed snow packs in so hard a plow can’t do anything with it. The front end loader helps a lot here. And, it’s not as heavy and much more maneuverable than the truck. Easier to winch out if it gets stuck too.
Also, we have dedicated snow storage areas. These are flat. I push the snow as far as I can starting the very beginning of winter. It gets VERY hard and compressed. These slowly get filled up making the driveway/parking area smaller as the winter moves forward.
As for the actual height? My compacted (that’s a big point) piles get to about 5 feet high. At that point the plow can’t push it any higher, and the tractor must take over.
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### Author:  [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/8 "2014-11-19T21:57:25Z")
Here in SoCal we usually store our snow at Mammoth.
:D:D:D:D:D
Excuse me while I do my happy dance.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/9 "2014-11-19T22:05:32Z")
That’s, like, a century of our snow.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/10 "2014-11-19T22:08:53Z")
One thing to keep in mind is the amount of snowfall is usually a lot more than the amount of snow on the ground. The record keepers go out frequently, measure the snow on their disks, clear them off, repeat. There might actually only be 2 feet or less on the ground.
2 feet of fluffy snow is no biggy. 2 feet of wet, packed snow is something else.
I remember one day back in the snow belt days hearing we had 2 inches of snow one day. But there was less snow on the ground in the evening than the morning. It kept subliming away faster than it was falling.
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/11 "2014-11-19T22:27:15Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> So how high are the piles on either side of the driveway after a 4-6 foot snowstorm?
I lived in Rochester NY years ago. I remember snow piles as high as the roof of the house.
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### Author:  [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/12 "2014-11-19T23:09:01Z")
The part of this report that blew me away was the 5" per hour. Per. Hour. So you’d pretty much have to clear the drive every 30 minutes all night long in order to keep it from accumulating.
That is just pure craziness.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/13 "2014-11-20T00:21:27Z")
> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> I lived in Rochester NY years ago. I remember snow piles as high as the roof of the house.
I remember the big blizzard in 1978. I think the drifts got that big even in southern Connecticut where we lived (and my parents still live). As I remember, the roads were closed except for official traffic for a week. But my mother was a directory assistance operator, so my father had to drive her to work. I think she had a card to show the police if they got stopped. There were calls on the radio for people with four-wheel drive vehicles (much less common then) to volunteer to shuttle doctors and nurses to work.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/14 "2014-11-20T01:21:45Z")
I just saw the report on the news about this snowfall - holy crap, that’s a lot of snow! My neck of the woods gets cold in winter, sometimes for extended periods, but it isn’t terribly snowy here, and I really appreciate that. Snow can fuck right off as far as I’m concerned.
They were also reporting that people are dying from this insane snowfall - one guy who died had been trapped in his car under 12 feet of snow! Yikes!
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### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/15 "2014-11-20T01:28:37Z")
> [@ftg](#):
>
> One thing to keep in mind is the amount of snowfall is usually a lot more than the amount of snow on the ground. The record keepers go out frequently, measure the snow on their disks, clear them off, repeat. There might actually only be 2 feet or less on the ground.
>
> 2 feet of fluffy snow is no biggy. 2 feet of wet, packed snow is something else.
>
> I remember one day back in the snow belt days hearing we had 2 inches of snow one day. But there was less snow on the ground in the evening than the morning. It kept subliming away faster than it was falling.
the snowfall and snow depth are both measured. snow depth may not as often make tv weathercasts.
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### Author:  [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/16 "2014-11-20T01:35:21Z")
I wasn’t NY but I was up in the snowier area near where folks went to ski. It seems like I remember more of this from my youth and I’ve seen studies that said accumulation was higher then.
One of the signs of adulthood among us male kids was when we were old enough to go shovel the roof. It is/was a right of passage and probably why snowblowers sometimes have those silly tags saying don’t take them out on a roof. Township crews would switch from plows and trucks to graders and dozers - and there was a time when really big snowfalls meant truckloads of snow hauled down to the river and dumped in. Susquehanna. And if anyone from the EPA is reading this no one would ever consider doing something like that today. Trust me on that one.
You deal with it because it happens. Or you move like I did to a less snowbound area.
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### Author:  [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2014, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/17 "2014-11-20T02:20:35Z")
When I lived in the area we and most of our neighbors hired a plow service for the winter. Each year you’d get the option of paying by the season or paying by the plow (usually the season would cost the equivalent of 7 or 8 plows). You’d guess how much snow you’d get that year and bet on which way you’d come out ahead.
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/18 "2014-11-20T03:03:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> I remember the big blizzard in 1978. I think the drifts got that big even in southern Connecticut where we lived (and my parents still live).
My sister was in Worcester, MA & took a picture of snow with a 2" piece of metal sticking out of it. She then told us the piece of metal was the top of the radio antenna, which was the only visible part of the car!
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### Author:  [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/19 "2014-11-22T19:54:19Z")
> [@Declan](#):
>
> What happens to those people stranded on the highway, do they pull the folks out and drive em to a motel and tow the vehicles to a designated spot for pick up later ?
>
> Declan
I don’t know where they took the people, but there have been news reports saying “If your vehicle was abandoned in Area X, it’s most likely been towed to the parking lot of Store Y.”
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2014, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-4-to-6-feet-western-new-yorkers-how-do-you-deal-with-it/705045/20 "2014-11-23T04:06:07Z")
Here’s the weird thing about lake effect show: you either get an insane amount of it or you get hardly any snow at all. The whole point of the lake effect is it channels all the snow fall into a small area.
So last week while Buffalo got something like seventy-two inches of snow, we here in the Rochester area got about six inches over the same time period.
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