Old time-lapse video of a blizzard burying a garden attributed to the recent blizzard in Buffalo, New York - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 6, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming it is a 48-hour time-lapse video showing the recent blizzard in Buffalo city of New York State in the United States. The time-lapse video shows a neighbourhood gradually engulfed by snow during a winter storm. Amid a deadly blizzard causing the death of at least 28 persons in Buffalo city of New York recently, this video is going viral on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: A 48-hour time-lapse video showing the recent blizzard in Buffalo city of New York.
Fact: The video shared in the post is being circulated on the internet at least since January 2016. Several media reports stated it as the 48-hour time-lapse video showing a blizzard that hit Northern Virginia in January 2016. The video does not show the recent blizzard that hit Buffalo city in New York. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched for this video using relevant keywords on the internet, a video with similar visuals was found published by a YouTube channel on 25 January 2016. This YouTube user described it as a one-minute time-lapse video that captured the 48-hour blizzard of winter storm Jonas that hit Northern Virginia between the 22nd and 24th of January in 2016.
Mentioning it as a video shot by him, this YouTube user stated, “The camera was set up on our front porch in Northern Virginia, USA, and captured 1 frame every 30 seconds.  I further compressed it down to 1 frame every 90 seconds to produce this video which culminates with the beautiful sunrise on Sunday morning.  You can even see Venus rising in the east just before sunrise.  The final measurement on the yardstick was 31 inches or 79 centimeters.  It is very interesting to see how the snow compresses somewhat right before sunrise.”
The ‘Daily Mail’ published an article in 2016, reporting the details of this time-lapse video. ‘Daily Mail’ reported it as a time-lapse video showing a neighbourhood disappearing under nearly three feet of snow during the winter storm Jonas in January 2016. The time-lapse video reportedly shows the sheer amount of snow engulfing a garden in Herndon town in Northern Virginia.
To sum it up, an old time-lapse video of a blizzard burying a garden in Northern Virginia is shared as recent visuals from Buffalo, New York.