ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – This holiday weekend saw a fierce bomb cyclone sweep across much of the country, and just a few hours away, the wind, cold temperatures, and constant lake effect snow has left dozens of people dead in Buffalo, N.Y.

While the Southern Tier doesn’t experience the routine lake effect storms like cities along the Great Lakes, the Elmira area has had its fair share of intense snow storms throughout history. In 2018, the Chemung County Historical Society compiled a list of significant snow storms to blanket Elmira and Chemung County.

In 1892, Elmira held a special election on March 1 and also got hit by a storm that dropped two feet of snow the same day. Nonetheless, voters went to the polls and voted a historic majority of Republicans into office, CCHS said.

Just 22 years later, another two feet of snow fell on Valentine’s Day 1914. Those 24 inches were a daily record until 1961 when 25 inches fell in one day, according to CCHS.

In late January 1925, 22 inches of snow fell. CCHS said Elmira shut down and thousands of visitors were stranded in the city as the roads were impassable. This contrasted with the mild snow season just three years later in March 1928, when the biggest daily snowfall was 10 inches.

Thirty years later, a major storm closed roads and canceled flights. Then the record-breaking 1961 storm arrived (25 inches of snow in one day in Elmira; 14-32 inches across the county). Five years after that, another storm only dropped eight inches, but CCHS explained that strong winds blew the snow into formidable drifts as deep as 14 feet. On top of the drifts, the January 1966 storm saw temperatures as cold as 15 degrees.

One year after the historic WNY “Blizzard of ’77”, Elmira was hit by the Great Blizard of 1978. Within just a couple of days, Elmira was buried under nearly 20 inches of snow, according to National Weather Service data.

Then, in March 1984, a late-season storm dropped over a foot in and around Elmira. This prompted travel restrictions in Chemung, Schuyler, and Tioga Counties as crews worked to clear the streets.

Then came the historic 1993 Storm of the Century that stretched from Central America, along the Eastern U.S., and into Canada. Syracuse was especially hit hard, but Elmira got 21.5 inches in a single day, according to the NWS.

While the Southern Tier may not see the Great Lake monster storms, we’re no stranger to sudden snow and drops in temperature. Even in early 2022, an unusually-cold January eventually saw almost a foot overnight, prompting a city-wide response to clear the streets as fast as possible in the weeks to come. Just days later, the temperature dropped to -22 degrees.