of very cold temperatures, very high winds, and blowing snow. For example, a maintenance pickup truck at the Buffalo airport had snow blasted into the engine compartment that then melted, saturated the spark plugs, and stalled the engine. A report from Welland, Ontario, (see section below for a description of the blizzard in Canada) indicated many cars overheated when snow got under the radiator, melted, and then refroze, interfering with the fan. Those attempting to travel by foot also found travel very difficult with the high winds, low visibility, deep snow, and very low wind chills. Visibility had dropped from ; winds had increased to , with gusts up to . Pedestrians were knocked down by the wind in city streets and struggled to regain footing, so pairs of policemen pulled them into buildings. People formed human chains from the Memorial Auditorium to people stranded in cars so the motorists would not get lost trying to find shelter. Locations west of Buffalo that were hit by the cold front only were affected for two to three hours, and western New York was thought to be the same. By 1:30 pm, Buffalo radar indicated almost no snow, and it became clear snow was being blown off frozen Lake Erie. Since the lake had frozen in December, the snow that fell had built up on the lake [recall the Buffalo airport reported of snow in January prior to the blizzard]. Lake Erie was reported to be covered by 'deep, powdery snow' at the beginning of the blizzard. During January, the unusually cold conditions limited thawing and freezing, and thus the snow on the ground (and frozen lake) did not consolidate into a form that would limit drifting. The new snow associated with the cold front and the snow that had accumulated on land and frozen Lake Erie were all blown by the strong winds and created drifts of over in metropolitan Buffalo. During the blizzard, about of "new" snow fell, and much of this was thought to be from snow that had been in the snowpack on Lake Erie. The drifted snow from the blizzard was difficult to clear for reasons illuminated by NWS meteorologist Ben Kolker: "The wind was so strong that it packed the snow. It broke the snow crystals up so they really packed in solidly, almost like a form of cement". As discussed later in this article, normal