Snow hasn’t yet shown itself in Albany, nor in much of the rest of eastern New York. It’s only mid-November, after all. Cold enough to know winter is coming; warm enough to still catch fading shades of a colorful autumn. But the closer I get to Buffalo, the whiter the scene becomes. Fifty miles away: a mere dusting. Twenty-five out: a light blanket. With just 10 miles to go I’m having a hard time believing I’m still in the Empire State. Head-high snowbanks now bury the guardrails lining I-90. 

Jake Aaronson rallied me out this way to scope for spots amid the thick of the first big storm of the season, which just broke last night. Exiting the highway, I slide into the City of Good Neighbors to see folks living up to the nickname with shovels in hand, digging out driveways and plowing sidewalks as far as the eye can see. Buffalo just received nearly six feet of snow in a matter of days, although it seems the locals are used to it. This is westernmost New York, a land where lake-effect snow is almost as prominent as Bills football fandom…

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