Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the Blizzard of ’77. Jessica Spaccio, a climatologist with the NOAA-funded Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, looks back at what is considered one of the region’s snowiest seasons on record.Bio: http://www.eas.cornell.edu/people/research.cfm?netid=jlr98

Spaccio says:

“On Jan. 28, winds were above 35 mph for nine consecutive hours and zero visibility lasted for 13 consecutive hours. These blizzard conditions lasted on and off until Feb. 2, when the skies finally cleared.

“During the five-day event, only 12.3 inches of snow fell at the Buffalo Airport, but a snowy December and January left over 30 inches of snow on the ground. The snow season ended with 198.9 inches, which still ranks as the snowiest on record for the city. That is more than double the normal amount they see in a season and more than the last two seasons combined.

“President Carter declared several counties a federal disaster area, which was the first time for a snowstorm in the U.S.”

Cornell University has television, ISDN and dedicated Skype/Google+ Hangout studios available for media interviews.

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