It is winter in Upstate New York and there are three feet of snow and everything closed from schools to the Thruway is harsh, nasty but yet heart warming. There is a traditional feel of this is the way things are supposed to be. That is Buffalo gets hammered with snow before Rochester, from the Associated Press [1]:
BUFFALO | Parts of New York are measuring the season’s first big snowfall in feet, rather than inches, as nearly 3 feet blanketed the Buffalo area Tuesday, forcing the closure of a 105-mile stretch of the state Thruway.
The Thruway Authority says white-out conditions have closed Interstate 90 in both directions Tuesday morning from the Rochester area to Dunkirk, on Lake Erie, 35 southwest of Buffalo. The National Weather Service says a foot to almost 3 feet of snow has fallen on areas south and east of the city.
Other major highways in the area are closed, numerous schools have cancelled classes and Buffalo officials have issued a driving ban for parts of the city.
So that gives Buffalo the early lead for the coveted Golden Snowball Award, an award I doubt Buffalo will win.