Niagara Peninsula had experienced a significant amount of snowfall prior to the blizzard commencing on Friday, January 28. Port Colborne had received since Christmas and Fort Erie had gotten since Christmas, with and of Fort Erie's amount having fallen on January 26 and 27, and and of Port Colborne's having arrived those days. As stated previously, the storm, with consistent winds of 70 km/h and gusts of 100 to 120 km/h, struck suddenly late in the morning Friday, January 28. The resultant blowing snow causing zero visibility and drifting snow making roads impassable causing many vehicles becoming stuck in the snow, causing their occupants to abandon them. That day of additional snow fell in the Port Colborne-Wainfleet area. That night, 250 people were stranded in the International Nickel Company plant in Port Colborne. Although schools closed when informed of the impending storm, the rapid onset of the storm resulted in about 1,000 students being stranded overnight on January 28, in Port Colborne and Wainfleet schools (about 2,000 students total were stranded in the Niagara region altogether). On Saturday, January 29, more snow was deposited in Port Colbourne-Wainfleet area and the high winds continued to cause blizzard conditions and high drifts of snow. That night, at 6 p.m., 800 students were still trapped, with 600 of them in Wainfleet and Port Colborne. On Sunday, a day when the winds decreased until the mid-afternoon but an additional of snow fell, the remaining students were taken from the schools with the help of the militia; some students were housed in nearby houses. In some areas, buses had become stranded trying to take children home from school Friday, so bus drivers had taken the children to nearby houses. On Monday, January 31 a further of snow fell in Port Colborne and windy conditions caused more blowing snow and higher snow drifts. Looting of radios from abandoned cars, as well as looting of soda pop from a truck was reported. The Long Beach and the Lowbanks areas of Wainfleet were very strongly affected by the storm. In Wainfleet, one resident reported early in the storm the wind broke a window facing the lake and snow rapidly began drifting in the house, which caused significant damage. In the Lowbanks area, a resident reported the storm smashed in windows and collapsed doors; they had lost power and heat and were burning furniture in the fireplace to keep