Living out along the shores of Lake Erie and being just a stone’s throw away from Lake Ontario means that Buffalonians are well-versed in historic snowstorms. With lake-effect weather constantly covering the city in white, there are a handful of snowstorms that instantly come to mind when we think about the worst of the worst. One storm that stands out differently from all the rest is one that took the Queen City by surprise in mid-October just 12 years ago.

On October 12-13, 2016, the city was pummeled by over two feet of snow, seemingly out of nowhere.
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The storm is officially called Lake Storm Aphid, but most Buffalonians know it at the October Surprise Snow. By any name, it was one for the history books.
The extremely heavy and wet snow that fell upon the city quickly created a deadly disaster.
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Initially, the National Weather Service office of Buffalo had predicted only a minimal amount of snow to hit the city, but this forecast turned out to be terribly wrong.
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Roughly 600,000 trees were damaged or destroyed in just two days and was a natural disaster that would end up taking months to clean up and repair.
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However, the greatest tragedy was that nearly 20 people died as a result of the storm.
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Many of the fatalities were due to car accidents on the snowy roads, some were due to falling trees, and still others were the result of carbon monoxide poisoning due to snowed-in ventilation.
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Many people with pre-existing conditions were also affected.
Buffalo’s surprise snowstorm left nearly half a million people without power on Friday the 13th and roughly 100,000 residents ended up going without power for over a week.
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As areas in North Buffalo watched 27 inches of snow piling up, then-President George W. Bush declared the storm a major disaster for Erie, Genesee, Orleans, and Niagara Counties.

As Buffalonians, we’re used to dealing with major snowstorms, but these two October days in 2006 became some of the snowiest on record. Do you remember where you were when the October surprise snowstorm hit? Can you believe it’s been 12 years since this snowstorm hit the Queen City? Share your memories and photos with us in the comments!

To read up on more shockingly snowy history, remember how A Terrifying, Deadly Storm Struck Buffalo In 1977… And No One Saw It Coming.

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