Weather History for January 26

JANUARY 26

1938 

Perhaps the worst ice jam of record in the Niagara River gorge occurred at Niagara Falls today. Ice flows pouring over the falls, piled up to a height of more than 30 feet (60 to 70 in spots). The beginning of this was late on the 25th. The terrific pressure of the ice against the steel supports of the Falls View Bridge caused them to bend or break off. The abutments of the bridge were so weakened after more than 24 hours of battering that the great structure fell into the gorge at 4:13pm of January 27th. The plant of the Ontario Hydro-Electric Power Commission on the Canadian side of the gorge near the Horseshoe Falls was nearly buried in ice and water and so seriously damaged that several months will be required to restore service. Water and ice filled the plant to a depth of 18 feet. Many of the giant generators were damaged, perhaps ruined. The docks used by the "Maid of the Mist", and the two steamers themselves, were also damaged. The river at Queenston rose 30 feet, and to within 20 feet of the huge hydro-electric plant at that point; no damage had resulted to this up to the end of January. Along the lower Niagara River, some cottages, boat landings, etc, were damaged or destroyed. Losses from the ice jam are difficult to estimate at the present time, but they will total hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cause of the ice jam: on January 21st, the ice fields at this end of the lake were only moderately thick, about 5 inches. A five day thaw began on that date and caused deterioration of the ice. By the 24th, there was much more open water at the mouth of the Niagara river that is usual in mid-winter. Then came strong southeast to southwest winds and gales, which blew steady for about 60 hours (24th, 25th, and 26th); the hourly wind velocity was 40 to 46 mph for nine hours during the afternoon and early night of the 25th, and the maximum velocity was 47 to 50 mph for seven of these hours. These winds were exactly in the right direction most of the time to carry great quantities of ice over the falls, the destructive ice jam resulting.

1978 

The snowstorm in Buffalo today was only the fringe of one of the most powerful storms to move up the Ohio valley in recent history. Previous thawing and rains compacted and hardened the snow on the ground before this storm struck. This prevented the strong winds from blowing the snow already on the ground into huge drifts. Although Buffalo escaped the brunt of the storm, the wind did gust to 66 mph. The barometer reached a new all time low for Buffalo of 28.41 inches. The U.S. Post Office was unable to deliver mail. Power outages were reported throughout Erie county. Some roofs collapsed from the weight of the snow and trees were felled.

1988 

Officially 5.0 inches was recorded at the Buffalo Airport-- the first 5 inch snowfall of the 1987-88 season. (The seasonal total through January 25th was a mere 11.5 inches). Just south of the airport and in metropolitan Buffalo however, seven to twelve inches of snow fell. Reports included Depew-12 inches, West Seneca-11 inches, Cheektowaga-9 inches, Lancaster-8 inches, downtown Buffalo-7 inches. The snow disrupted road and air traffic, canceled meetings, and closed schools. The Father Baker Bridge, the Skyway, and Fuhrman Boulevard were closed because of wind whipped snow and several chain reaction accidents involving a total of 30 cars. Later in the day, the squalls moved south into the traditional snowbelt areas. 

1990

25^th-26^th…Low pressure over Michigan moved northeast and swept a cold front across western New York bringing strong winds to the area. Wind gusts between 50 and 60 mph were not uncommon. The high winds blew down a building wall at a shopping plaza in Depew. Trees were downed in Lockport and Jamestown.

2000

Low pressure moved up the east coast with western New York on the fringe of the system. The north northeast flow across Lake Ontario resulted in enhanced snowfalls downwind of the lake. Snowfalls included: Rochester metro area--12" in the city, 16" in the eastern suburbs, and 6-10" west and south; Wayne county--12-18" west and south and 6-12" near the lake; Ontario county--6-9" across the northern sections; and Oswego county--8-12" south and central.

2003

A broad area of lake effect snows continued off both Lakes Erie and Ontario in a cold westerly flow. The lake effect snows were enhanced over the higher elevations of the southern tier and Finger Lakes region where snowfall totals on the 26th ranged from eight to twelve inches.