Buffalo Snowed by Big Storm; Pupils, Workers Stranded

The National Guard was sent in Tuesday to help the city dig out after a surprise 2-foot snowstorm trapped motorists in their cars and stranded thousands of workers and schoolchildren overnight at offices, supermarkets, City Hall and restaurants.

“It’s like an army just came through and just started hitting us with snow, that’s how everything looks,” said 12-year-old Journey Cooper, one of seven youngsters who spent the night at a hotel. He was eager to get home Tuesday: “I need to get me washed up and get some new clothes on.”

Mayor Anthony Masiello declared a state of emergency and banned drivers from the streets to give plows and tow truck crews room to work, urging everyone to “stay out of our city.”

Inmates on work-release programs were enlisted to dig out fire hydrants, street corners and sidewalks. National Guardsmen used Humvees and other four-wheel-drive vehicles to deliver blankets, water and food.

The Buffalo airport was expected to remain closed most of the day, though 65 miles of the New York State Thruway, which had been closed between Buffalo and Rochester because of blowing snow, was reopened.

Buffalo is accustomed to astonishing amounts of snow from “lake effect” storms, which pick up moisture from Lake Erie. But the timing of this storm, which unloaded 25 inches of snow, caught the city off guard Monday.

The storm hit its peak in the middle of the afternoon. Many businesses sent employees home early, and everyone hit the slippery streets at once.

“It took an hour to move a few steps,” said Bonni Cascio, who had to take shelter for the night inside a Holiday Inn lobby.

An estimated 2,000 youngsters got unexpected sleepovers around the city after their buses were halted by the snow and by abandoned cars in the streets.

“They’ve been warm, they’ve been well fed, they were a lot happier, I’m sure, than many of you parents were,” Supt. Marion Canedo assured parents.

Two busloads of children spent the night at the local FBI building, and workers went out on snowmobiles to pick up pizzas for them.

As streets were cleared Tuesday, buses started taking some children home, but other youngsters remained in shelters.

For the younger among the stranded students, the adventure no doubt produced some homesickness, but school spokesman Andy Maddigan said parents seemed to suffer more than their offspring.

It appeared that most, if not all, the students who didn’t make it home eventually talked by telephone with their parents as night fell Monday. On Tuesday, students and their parents were reunited as the day wore on and roads were cleared.

Students seemed to relish the attention they were getting from adults. Youngsters staying at City Hall met with Masiello.

“It was sweet,” 12-year-old Joseph Tillman said.

Preschoolers curled up underneath jackets in the corner of the assessor’s office. Others were stretched across chairs, fast asleep.

Monday’s snowfall was Buffalo’s third-highest total for any 24-hour period. It brought the total so far this month to more than 40 inches, including 14 that fell Saturday. The city’s record is 37.9 inches in a two-day period in December 1995.

Gov. George Pataki declared a state of emergency for Erie County and the city, making state resources available to help with the cleanup.

Jennifer Kingston and Mary Anne Johnson met while they were stranded on a highway off-ramp. They spent the night in Kingston’s car and by morning were the best of friends.

“We talked for hours. I can tell you anything about her,” Kingston said.

Jay Pereira spent the night in his Federal Express truck and was visited by people who offered him food, coffee and the use of their cellular phones. “A lot of people turned out to be really decent folks.”

Gloria Schiabone, who is unable to walk, said a bystander who identified himself only as “Chris or something” carried her from her stuck van to the Holiday Inn lobby, then trudged off to find her a wheelchair.

“It was real nice of him. He didn’t have to do that,” Schiabone said.