Record-Breaking Cold Sweeps The U.S.

Published November 18, 2014 at 1:47 PM EST

A commuter walks along Market Street in freezing temperatures Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014, in Philadelphia. The National Weather Service says parts of northwestern Pennsylvania are bracing for nearly 2 feet of snow as arctic air continues to produce lake-effect conditions. A lake-effect snow warning remains in effect for northwest Pennsylvania, northeast Ohio and parts of western New York through 7 a.m. Wednesday. (Matt Rourke/AP)

We know Buffalo, New York is no stranger to snow, but the season’s first big snowfall was a whopper and is being measured in feet, instead of inches. Nearly 3 feet of snow blanketed the Buffalo area, closing major highways and shutting schools.

“It’s pretty bad,” Keith Plekan, owner of K.A.P. Landscaping & Snowplowing in Cheektowaga, told Here & Now. “It’s early in November. We’re getting hit with all the lake effect. Driving bans throughout the whole area county. I’m actually going out right now. I’ve got all my troops coming. We’ve got about four or five trucks. We’re going to head out now to the most hard hit areas.”

And the cold snap extends all the way down to Florida.

“It’s just above freezing this morning,” said Steve Herbert, who owns a farm in Walnut Hill, Fla., north of Pensacola. “It got down to about 28 degrees. This is the coldest we’ve had it this season and it came just a little early. We needed another week or two to finish selling our sweet corn and butter beans before it froze. We’ve managed it the last few years and sometimes we have sweetcorn as late as Thanksgiving.”

Meanwhile, things are cozy at the South Bend Chocolate Company in South Bend, Indiana, with temperatures in the teens outside. Mark Tarner owns the cafe and sweet shop and says the chill is good for business.

“You called one of the world’s largest chocolate shops,” Tarner said. “We have about 10,000 square foot sprawling winter wonderland I guess. We have an outdoor fire going on right now and we only have about 8 to 12 inches of snow, the roads are clean and everybody is in the café sitting around two alpine fireplaces having great hot chocolate.”

Guests

Keith Plekan, owner of K.A.P. Landscaping & Snowplowing in Cheektowaga, N.Y.
Steve Herbert, owner of Steve’s Farm in Walnut Hill, Fla.
Mark Tarner, owner of South Bend Chocolate Company in South Bend, Ind.