37 Dead in Buffalo, NY

[Blast]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/28/weather/buffalo-winter-storm-new-york-blizzard-wednesday/index.html

So far, emergency crews have recovered 37 bodies of people who died in the recent winter storm. This boggles my mind! Growing up in Minnesota, everyone but the most stupid A) had a winter kit (blankets, candles, shovel) in their car and B) kept an eye on the weather and didn't go out if a blizzard was coming. Knowing how to keep warm inside a house with no power was also a common skill. WTF?!
-Blast

[majorhavoc]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/28/weather/buffalo-winter-storm-new-york-blizzard-wednesday/index.html

So far, emergency crews have recovered 37 bodies of people who died in the recent winter storm. This boggles my mind! Growing up in Minnesota, everyone but the most stupid A) had a winter kit (blankets, candles, shovel) in their car and B) kept an eye on the weather and didn't go out if a blizzard was coming. Knowing how to keep warm inside a house with no power was also a common skill. WTF?!
-Blast

Dollars to donuts a significant portion of those fatalities will be linked to carbon monoxide poisoning.  

[NT2C]

Believe it or not but some of this might be attributable to immigration.  Quite a few northern US locations have sizable ethnic populations from tropical and sub-tropical regions, and these communities attract new immigrants who simply do not comprehend the dangers of northern climates.

[flybynight]

Believe it or not but some of this might be attributable to immigration.  Quite a few northern US locations have sizable ethnic populations from tropical and sub-tropical regions, and these communities attract new immigrants who simply do not comprehend the dangers of northern climates.

Add to this, Some people refuse to heed warnings. I've seen it time and again people leaving the house in t shirts when it is dangerously cold . They claim they are used to it and don't need to even take a coat because the car has a heater

[echo83]

Believe it or not but some of this might be attributable to immigration.  Quite a few northern US locations have sizable ethnic populations from tropical and sub-tropical regions, and these communities attract new immigrants who simply do not comprehend the dangers of northern climates.

Add to this, Some people refuse to heed warnings. I've seen it time and again people leaving the house in t shirts when it is dangerously cold . They claim they are used to it and don't need to even take a coat because the car has a heater

That drives me nuts. That, and kids at the bus stop wearing shorts in January.  
I'll take my GHB/car bag with me on birdwatching walks with my family. It's totally tame trails, no crazy elevation changes, and we're walking about 2 miles or so. The only thing in it that sees any regular use are the CLIF bars and the canteens, but still. You get turned around in the woods, you break an ankle, someone gets a bee sting, a downpour comes your way, and suddenly that stuff is worth its weight in gold. 
Home is never really just around the corner.

[EBuff75]

Believe it or not but some of this might be attributable to immigration.  Quite a few northern US locations have sizable ethnic populations from tropical and sub-tropical regions, and these communities attract new immigrants who simply do not comprehend the dangers of northern climates.

Add to this, Some people refuse to heed warnings. I've seen it time and again people leaving the house in t shirts when it is dangerously cold . They claim they are used to it and don't need to even take a coat because the car has a heater

That drives me nuts. That, and kids at the bus stop wearing shorts in January. 
I'll take my GHB/car bag with me on birdwatching walks with my family. It's totally tame trails, no crazy elevation changes, and we're walking about 2 miles or so. The only thing in it that sees any regular use are the CLIF bars and the canteens, but still. You get turned around in the woods, you break an ankle, someone gets a bee sting, a downpour comes your way, and suddenly that stuff is worth its weight in gold.
Home is never really just around the corner.

I'm in Michigan, and when it's cold out and I take the garbage out, or just run to the garage, I almost always wear a coat.  Even if I'm just going to be outside for 30 seconds, because you never know when you might slip, or have some type of medical event that could end up with you laying on the ground.  Better safe than sorry and it only takes a few extra seconds.

[Brekar]

37 dead sucks for them and their families. I'd hate to be in that scenario. A lot of those I'd bet were trapped in their cars after not heading the snow warnings. I read about several people dying because of stuff like that. I'm with you guys though. I'll never understand people being unprepared for the cold. I carry a lot of cold weather stuff in my car and truck, and all of it is accessible from the cab of either vehicle. Working outside in all kinds of weather for hours at a time, I've learned the magic of keeping myself warm. Hell a big blanket, some rubbing alcohol, toilet paper and a new paint can and a slightly cracked window will help keep you tolerably warm if you have to weather the storm in the car.  I've been stuck before in bad weather in my early years and was always worried about getting hit by someone who cannot see me. Because of that I even carry a pair of (Model# RT-1508) Red and Blue Rail-Tek's LED Marker Light in my vehicles. They are reasonably priced, not to big, clip to my bags, bright enough to see up to 2 miles, have a 40lb magnetic pull base, and last's forever on 3AA's...

[NT2C]

...because you never know when you might slip, or have some type of medical event that could end up with you laying on the ground.  Better safe than sorry and it only takes a few extra seconds.

BTDT, got the bruises and messed up shoulder to prove it.

A few years ago we had freezing rain in my AO, late at night.  Before I went to bed ~0100 I went to check and see if I needed to salt the driveway or not.  This is a picture of my driveway from one of the security cameras (different night):

You cannot view this attachment.

It's asphalt and pretty steep, about a one-in-three slope to the roadway.  (So steep that a 2lb can of red kidney beans once rolled down it, across the road, then down the neighbor's driveway and put a hole through their old garage door)

 Here's another view:

You cannot view this attachment.

See that concrete strip with the packages are?  That's outside the garage door.  This fact will become important in a minute.

In order to see if the driveway was iced or not I decided to open the garage door and reach out with my carbide grit ice tip on my cane and see if it was just wet or if it was ice.  So, I opened the door, started to reach out with the cane, put my leading foot on that concrete strip that my stupid brain was telling me was part of the garage floor slab and thus, inside and not outside where in may have gotten iced and quickly discovered several things:

• The concrete strip was, in fact, outside
• The strip and the driveway were encased in 1/4" of ice
• Bedroom slippers lack ice traction
• You can gain considerable speed sliding down a steep, ice-covered driveway on your belly in sweats, t-shirt, and flannel shirt
• That my cell phone was in my office on the charger
• That I was now stranded outside at the bottom of a hill in below-freezing temps with no way back into my house
• That ice storms really cut traffic on that road to zero

It took me a very long time to slowly make my way up that hill on my hands and knees, using my cane as an improvised ice anchor and using my weight on my knees to melt the ice enough that it would then refreeze to my sweats if I lifted my knee slightly but left the material staying in contact with the ice.  Once it refroze I could use that little bit of friction (and my cane) to move up about 3", then repeat the process with the other leg while the cane (mostly) kept me from backsliding. That driveway is 50' long.

By the time I regained the garage, I'd permanently damaged my shoulder, both knees were swollen to the point I couldn't get up on my feet and had to crawl up our ramp to the garage door controls and door into the heated house, and I'd lost feeling in my fingers and toes.

I like to think I'm a lot smarter now.  In cold weather, I put on a damn coat and gloves if I go out into the garage, make sure I have my cell phone and a powerbank to recharge it, and I stay the hell away from the open garage doorway unless I have someone with me.

[majorhavoc]

That experience sounds just awful, NT2C.  But I suspect a lot of us can relate to it.  A few years ago, I slipped on ice while checking for mail at the bottom of my driveway. It was one of those whoosh! and suddenly your feet are shooting out in front of you and you're rapidly descending towards terra very firma more or less horizontally.  Ice underfoot is a annual reality where I live and I've done that any number of times over the years.  I instinctively put my right hand out to break my fall.  Usually I end up with nothing more than a sore wrist and amazement I didn't break it. 

That one night, I didn't break my wrist, but I distinctly heard and felt a pop in my shoulder.  After two weeks of it not getting any better (I couldn't even turn a door knob or lift anything heavier than a coffee cup without pain), I finally went to see a doctor.  Turns out I had torn my right rotator cuff and partially detached my biceps.   

I can now attest that shoulder surgery can be very successful.  But the recovery absolutely stinks.  The human shoulder joint is very slow to heal.  Sleeping for the first few months was particularly difficult - you basically have to sleep in a recliner or propped up in bed with three or four pillows.  Even then, the discomfort keeps you from getting any more than 90 minutes of sleep at a time. That made for a lot of long nights.

Whenever I see a stranger with that distinctive black velco sling with the pad holding their arm about 4 inches away from their torso, I go right up to them and say "How's the sleep going?"  They know exactly what I'm talking about.  It's kind of like a club or recovery group - those of us who have endured shoulder surgery.

I'm saying this just to add to EBuff and NT2C's point that it's very easy to seriously injure yourself in adverse conditions, which can severly limit your ability to respond to an emergency situation.  Whatever your baseline state of health, I think we all tend to assume we'll be able to navigate an emergency with all of our physical capacities intact.  The reality is that in challenging conditions, it's all too easy to injure yourself.  Even just operating for prolonged periods under stress and fatigue can rapidly wear down the unconditioned body. 

It's safer to assume the very real possibility of injury.  Plan to respond to adverse conditions very cautiously or a bad situation can suddenly become a lot worse.

[flybynight]

Always expect the worst. Cause you are only one mis step away from being a memory

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Always expect the worst. Cause you are only one mis step away from being a memory

Who was it on the old boards that had sig line that said "Thou shalt not mess with the forces of Mother Nature, for thou art small and biodegradable." ?

Was it MegaWoodsWalker or someone else ?

[flybynight]

Always expect the worst. Cause you are only one mis step away from being a memory

Who was it on the old boards that had sig line that said "Thou shalt not mess with the forces of Mother Nature, for thou art small and biodegradable." ?

Was it MegaWoodsWalker or someone else ?

Pretty sure that was woods walker.  Who was it who had the sig that went something like. going so deep in the forest where creatures will eat you and your horse ?

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I figured that was Woodswalker's sig line quote.

Not sure about the second quote, though.

Maybe it was in Blackdog's sig line ?

[flybynight]

https://youtu.be/AUm59wYqlOk


And some folks say, He's up there still

[wolf_from_wv]

Always expect the worst. Cause you are only one mis step away from being a memory

Who was it on the old boards that had sig line that said "Thou shalt not mess with the forces of Mother Nature, for thou art small and biodegradable." ?
Was it MegaWoodsWalker or someone else ?

Pretty sure that was woods walker.  Who was it who had the sig that went something like. going so deep in the forest where creatures will eat you and your horse ?

The deeper you go in the forest the more things there are to eat your horse.

[flybynight]

Always expect the worst. Cause you are only one mis step away from being a memory

Who was it on the old boards that had sig line that said "Thou shalt not mess with the forces of Mother Nature, for thou art small and biodegradable." ?
Was it MegaWoodsWalker or someone else ?

Pretty sure that was woods walker.  Who was it who had the sig that went something like. going so deep in the forest where creatures will eat you and your horse ?

The deeper you go in the forest the more things there are to eat your horseT

That's it. Who had that sig?

[Lambykins]

The deaths in Buffalo make me sad and angry.
Sad, because my heart grieves for the families that lost loved family members.
Angry because WHY THE HELL DID THEY GO OUT IN THE STORM?
It doesn't matter if you are out of milk or toilet paper or you HAVE to go see Aunt Louise or your boss is threatening to fire you; if a major storm is bearing down on your location DON'T GO OUT!
Many of the people that died went out AFTER the "Do Not Drive" order went out.
What was so worth their lives?

We had a bad storm here, too. High winds, snow, etc.
Our standing order at work is "If you don't feel it safe to drive DON'T! Call the store, let us know."
Our store also delivers 2 days a week, so people can get their necessities delivered.
If all else fails, our local PD and Fire department will pick up and deliver prescriptions and necessities for the homebound in emergency situations. (I love living in a small town)

But still, if it is that bad out, don't drive. Whatever reason, it's not worth your life.

[majorhavoc]

if a major storm is bearing down on your location DON'T GO OUT!

[snip]

if it is that bad out, don't drive. Whatever reason, it's not worth your life.

Yep. Having lived in northern climes my whole life, that's my operative response to adverse weather conditions.  Winter storms are times when you stay home, put on some soup and binge watch TV if you have power.  And if you don't, bundle up and read a book.   

The only slight empathy I have for those folks in Buffalo is the timing of that storm, right before Christmas.  If anything will entice an otherwise sensible person to venture out in dangerous weather, it would be the holidays and the prospect of reconnecting with family and friends.  Layer on top of that the pandemic we've all endured over the past few years.  People were really looking forward to finally having something resembling a normal Christmas.

But I totally agree with you; it just wasn't worth it.