1959 — Jan 16-18, Winter Weather (snowstorm, gale winds), NY, esp. NW NY            –11-12

–12  AP. “12 Die Over Weekend as Result of Storm.” Adirondack Enterprise, NY, 1-19-1959, 1.

–11  Weather Bureau. Storm Data, Vol. I, No. 1, Jan 1959, p. 4.

 

–1  Cohoes. Drowning; broke the pond ice while playing; Robert J. Richards, 11.[1]

–1  Lewiston area. Apparent heart attack after car stuck in snow drift; Mrs. Helen W. Human, 60.[2]

–1  Troy. Snow sled hit by truck; Clayton Simpson, 5.[3]

 

Narrative Information

 

Weather Bureau: “New York….Statewide (Upstate)…[Jan] 15-18…11 [killed],,,Heavy snowstorm, gale winds.

 

“Eleven deaths attributed to storm conditions and numerous injuries. Heavy snowstorm, especially near the Great Lakes, gale winds, blinding, blowing snow and near blizzard conditions. Snowfalls of 1 to 1½ feet in many Lake county areas. Bennett Bridge reported 51 inches in 16 hours. Strong winds and severe drifting closing some roads in the Lake Ontario area.” (Weather Bureau. Storm Data, Vol. I, No. 1, Jan 1959, p. 4.)

 

Newspaper

 

Jan 16: “Buffalo (UPI) – An icy blast of Arctic air sent temperatures plummeting toward the zero mark today [Jan 17] in the wake of the worst snow storm to hit the Buffalo area this winter. While the storm brought only abut five inches of new snow to the city vicinity, it left up to a foot in other areas of Western New York. The blinding snow storm hit the Buffalo area late in the afternoon, piled up drifts nearly five feet deep along wind-swept stretches of highway, brought rush-hour traffic to a standstill and stranded countless motorists. Airline and bus operations were hampered. Thousands of workers were dismissed early from their jobs.

 

“A Lehigh Valley Railroad train made up of two yard diesel engines and a caboose was put to use to rescue 12 children stranded in a bus along wind-swept Fuhrmann Boulevard on the city southern outskirts. Nearly 100 other persons including stranded motorists also were picked up by the train on several rescue missions. The tracks parallel the boulevard.

 

“There were at least three weather-connected deaths across the state. Mrs. Helen W. Human, 60 apparently suffered a heart attack when her car became stuck in a snow drift not far from her Town of Lewiston home in Niagara County. In Cohoes, 11-year-old Robert J. Richards was drowned when he plunged through the ice on a pond while playing. Companions formed a human chain in a futile effort to save him. And in Troy, Clayton Simpson, 5, died in a coasting mishap. The boy’s brother was pulling the sled on which Clayton was riding. He slipped and dropped the rope, the sled sliding under the wheels of a truck.

 

“The U.S. Weather Bureau at Albany said new snow accumulations from the storm ranged from a few inches in the lower Hudson Valley to about one foot at Massena and Plattsburgh. The strong, gusty winds from out of the West built the snow into drifts and slashed visibility in some places to a mile.

 

“Police reported about 150 motorists abandoned their cars and made their way to a gasoline station in South Buffalo, an area particularly hard hit. About 60 others found shelter at the same station after a Greyhound Bus became stalled in the snow in Fuhrmann Boulevard. Two Niagara Frontier Transit buses were later used to shuttle the people to downtown Buffalo.

 

“At the request of Buffalo authorities, Lackawanna police temporarily halted traffic coming into the city from the South in an effort to clear the car-jammed south Buffalo area.

 

“The widespread storm, blizzard-like at times, also spread to Wyoming, Genesee and Livingston counties east of Buffalo. Wyoming County authorities reported all roads in the county were in ‘very bad shape’ Friday night [16^th].

 

“In the Southern Tier area, blinding snow squalls caused the Jamestown Municipal Airport to close down operations Friday for the second straight day. Nearly a foot of new snow had fallen in Chautauqua County.

 

“The temperature dropped from a morning high Friday of about 32 to a low of 13 in Buffalo this morning. In inland areas it was near zero.

 

“The Weather Bureau promised more snow squalls in Western New York today, especially in the Southern Tier counties, with up to a foot expected in heavy snow belts. Zero temperatures wre predicted for tonight….” (UPI. “Buffalo Struggles From Storm’s Strangle Hold.” Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY, 1-17-1959, p. 1.)

 

Jan 19 (Monday): “Albany, N.Y. (AP) – Bitter cold number New Yorkers today as many trudged through snowdrifts piled by weekend storms and high winds. Blinding snow swirled across the snow-belt counties south of Buffalo again Monday. Several schools were closed.

 

“At least 12 persons died over the weekend as a result of storm-connected accidents and hear attacks.

 

“The Weather Bureau said light snow or squalls could be expected Monday and Tuesday. Monday night will be slightly warmer but Tuesday will be cold again, the bureau said.

 

“The mercury dropped to -18 overnight at Schroon River in the Adirondacks. It was -13 at Salisbury in the Mohawk Valley and -12 at Glens Falls and Plattsburgh. The Weather Bureau reported these other overnight lows: Middleburg -10; Gloversville and Oneonta -9; Elmira and Tannersville (in the Catskills) -6; Cobleskill -5; Albany -4; and Poughkeepsie, zero.

 

“Above zero were: Rome 2; Binghamton, Syracuse and Utica 3; Buffalo and Massena 4; Rochester and Watertown 5; Olean and Newburgh 6; and New York City (LaGuardia Airport) 18.

 

“A weekend snowfall of 51 inches enveloped Bennett Bridge, a hamlet about 30 miles east of Oswego, Lake Ontario’s ‘snow city.’….

 

“Sixteen inches fell over the weekend in Northern New York, about a foot in the Adirondacks and gradually lesser amounts terraced the state toward New York City, which had only a trace.” (Assoc. Press. “12 Die Over Weekend as Result of Storm.” Adirondack Enterprise, NY, 1-19-1959, 1.)

 

Source

 

Associated Press. “12 Die Over Weekend as Result of Storm.” Adirondack Daily Enterprise, NY, 1-19-1959, 1. Accessed 2-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/saranac-lake-adirondack-daily-enterprise-jan-19-1959-p-2/

 

UPI (United Press International). “Buffalo Struggles From Storm’s Strangle Hold.” Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY, 1-17-1959, p. 1. Accessed 2-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/dunkirk-evening-observer-jan-17-1959-p-1/

 

Weather Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce. Storm Data, Vol. I, No. 1, January 1959, Asheville, NC. Accessed 2-27-2020 at: https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-C50681DD-E345-4949-802F-B8BB5BBC4A16.pdf

 

 

[1] UPI. “Buffalo Struggles From Storm’s Strangle Hold.” Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY, 1-17-1959, p. 1.

[2] UPI. “Buffalo Struggles From Storm’s Strangle Hold.” Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY, 1-17-1959, p. 1.

[3] UPI. “Buffalo Struggles From Storm’s Strangle Hold.” Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY, 1-17-1959, p. 1.