A viral clip from Rochester in the United States has turned a routine winter departure into a dramatic spectacle, as a Delta Air Lines Boeing 717 powered up for takeoff and hurled a towering plume of snow across the airfield. Filmed in extreme cold and near whiteout conditions at Rochester International Airport in the USA, the scene captures both the raw force of jet engines and the unforgiving weather that has gripped Western New York.
The moment, shared widely on social media, shows the 717 accelerating down a snow-covered runway while its exhaust blasts loose powder into a swirling wall that briefly obscures the aircraft from view. It is a striking illustration of how commercial aviation keeps moving even when winter storms turn airports into snow-globe landscapes.
The viral “snow blast” and the power of a 717 departure
The centerpiece of the footage is a Delta Air Lines Boeing 717 that surges forward and appears to detonate the snowpack sitting on the runway shoulders, sending it skyward in a dense, wind-driven curtain. As the twin rear-mounted engines spool up, the exhaust flow interacts with the loose powder and creates a rolling wave that races outward from the jet’s path, a visual reminder of the thrust required to lift a fully loaded aircraft in frigid air. The clip, recorded in Rochester in the USA and shared by local spotter @joey_frascati, shows the jet accelerating for departure while surrounded by extreme cold and snowy conditions that had already coated the field in fresh accumulation.
In the video, the 717 is barely visible at points as the snow cloud wraps around the fuselage, then gradually emerges as it gains speed and climbs away from Rochester International Airport, USA. The scene, captured on On January 15, 2026 in Rochester, USA, has been circulated widely as viewers marvel at the combination of routine airline operations and almost cinematic visuals created by the storm. Multiple clips highlight the same Delta Air Lines Boeing 717 sequence, each underscoring how the aircraft’s thrust transformed a quiet, snow-blanketed runway into a churning white spray that briefly engulfed the surrounding area, a moment documented in detail from the Rochester International Airport, USA vantage point through Rochester footage.
A blizzard-battered airfield that never stopped moving
What makes the snow blast so compelling is the broader context: Rochester, New York, United States was in the grip of a heavy snowstorm that blanketed runways, taxiways, and terminal ramps in deep, wind-driven drifts. On January 15, 2026 in Rochester, New York, United States, the same spotter shared additional video showing real-time airfield activity as snow swept across the airport and visibility dropped, yet aircraft continued to taxi, line up, and depart. The 717 departure is just one frame in a larger sequence of operations that reveal how crews and controllers kept traffic flowing northbound despite the conditions that turned the airport into a near whiteout…