Is It Possible Kalamazoo Experiences a Buffalo-Like Snowstorm?
This past weekend Kalamazoo and Buffalo were amongst the country leaders in snowfall numbers, but could Kalamazoo ever be as bad as Buffalo was? Short answer: yes, the snow levels we see in Southwest Michigan are very similar to Buffalo winters.
Areas in Kalamazoo saw roughly 24 inches, or two feet, of snow accumulation over the weekend while the big hitters in the Buffalo area saw crazy totals upward of 77 inches or almost six and a half feet of snow. They had snow piled up to their doors, burying their cars, and stuffed in their gutters.
Down Bad In Buffalo
In the video posted below, you can see a TikTok user (shotby_sara) walking through the accumulated snow from the Buffalo storm. As you can see, this is a TASK for her as the snow is at her WAIST!
@shotby_sara #buffalosnow #buffalosnowstorm ♬ original sound - Sara
The Buffalo Bills had their home football game moved to Ford Field in Detroit due to the high levels of snow coating their stadium. This was the least of the worries for Buffalo residents as they had the biggest storm in New York history.
There are tons of videos and pictures circulating the internet of Buffalo citizens opening doors to walls of snow, stranding in snow up to their chest/chins while trying to shovel, and the plows slowly chopping away at the sea of snow on the roads, sidewalks, and driveways.
Krazy Snowfall in Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo has seen some crazy snowfall in the past years such as totals as high as three or four feet of snow. While we aren't reaching Buffalo levels quite yet, Kalamazoo may want to get prepared to possibly see horrendous snow accumulation soon.
The snowstorm that occurred this past weekend was one of the worst first snows that Michigan has seen in quite some time. Some areas in Kalamazoo saw over two feet of snow but need to know that this is just a warm-up.
Land Of The Lake Effect
Earlier, I mentioned how Kalamazoo could possibly see a Buffalo-like snowstorm in the future, well, that's attributed to our good buddy ole pal, Lake Effect Snow. Lake Effect Snow is one of the biggest factors in our snowfall totals and is a big reason why many Michiganders dislike Winter.
Lake effect snow is the process in which cold air passes over the unfrozen and warm(yet still cold) water of the lake, the warmth and moisture are transferred to the lowest part of the atmosphere and create more snow by the hour.
Essentially, we see more snow in Kalamazoo because of the existence of Lake Michigan. When a large storm rolls over Lake Michigan the storm grows by an average of two-three inches of snow per hour spreading across Southwest Michigan. So, depending on the levels of moisture, cold air, and warmth we could see upwards of five feet of snow in Kalamazoo!
Could you handle a Buffalo-like storm here in Kalamazoo? What is the most snow you remember falling here in Kalamazoo? Would you get out and shovel/plow anything in a Buffalo-like storm? I don't know about you, but I'm praying we don't get too much lake-effect snow this year.