BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — It's the one-two punch of snow that will forever be remembered as "Snowvember."
A decade ago this week, back-to-back lake effect snow events dumped several feet of snow in communities east and south of Buffalo.
Some of the hardest-hit areas dealt with more than seven feet of snow.
According to the National Weather Service:
- There were 13 fatalities during the 2014 Snowvember storm
- 1000s of motorists were stranded on the thruway and local roadways
- The storm caused hundreds of major roof collapses and structural failures
"It was definitely the biggest challenge we've ever had," said David Gunner, Superintendent of Highways for the Town of Aurora which accumulated more than seven feet of snow during the storm.
Gunner told me that his crews worked around the clock to keep roads open and passable for emergency vehicles. He said the first lake effect band dropped around three feet of snow, which his team was able to manage, but that was only the beginning.
"We got through that three foot and we were just cleaning it up, and we were feeling good. Then all of a sudden the second band came in and that was for us the big one," said Gunner, who added that the second band of snow dropped an additional four feet.
Once the snow stopped the massive cleanup effort began with Town of Aurora crews moving mountains of snow to Knox Farm State Park.
Gunner said his biggest takeaway from Snowvember was the importance of updated equipment including snowplows.
"Literally by the end of it, half of the fleet was broke. It is an incredible wear and tear on the equipment since then we've upgraded to where we try and keep new equipment, more equipment," said Gunner.