Friday, January 27, 2017

40th anniversary of the Great Blizzard


It's the 40th anniversary of this historic blizzard, and people are still talking about it! Buffalo and Niagara media are taking retrospective looks this week at the great storm that has permanently frozen itself in the annals of history of the Niagara frontier.

For me, the passage of time makes the memories of this storm grow fainter and fainter with each passing year, but the impact and historical significance of the storm are as strong as ever even 40 years later. Perhaps even more so now that winters are so much milder and less harsh than they used to be.. especially like they were in the late 1970s. It seems unbelievable that a blizzard with the ferocity, duration and impact of the Blizzard of '77 could ever happen in this area.

But it did. All the elements came together that late January to whip up the most epic blizzard southern Niagara had ever faced..  and likely will ever face again. Now with each passing year, the blizzard of '77 seems to elevate in status to almost mythical levels.. a great storm our elders talk about that had no equal in their lifetime, and has had no equal since.

But this is Mother Nature.. and one thing she likes to do is surprise people from time to time with her unpredictability and ability to shock and awe.  Even when we say we've seen it all, she manages to do something that causes us to stop in our tracks, our mouths agape in wonder, our indifference humbled by the power of Mother Nature when she decides to show who's really in charge. So although the odds of another Blizzard of '77 in the future are slim, they are not zero.. and we would be wise to always be prepared for Mother Nature when she next decides to wield her stunning power.    
  

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