As soon as fall arrives in New York, everyone knows what follows next: winter, and with it, snow.
When will New York get its first significant snowfall of the year?
Here are the typical dates of New York State’s first measurable snowfall, according to historical statistics.
November 8th in Buffalo
Sunday, November 8th – Rochester
November 6th – Syracuse
On November 6th, in Binghamton
The 16th of November in Albany
On December 14th, in New York City
For the purposes of the National Weather Service, snowfall of 0.1 inch or more within a 24-hour window is considered measurable.
The appearance of flakes in these regions is, of course, nothing new. October is typically when we begin to see snowflakes, although their generally small size and lack of stickiness mean that they never reach the “measurable” level.
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With the exception of New York City, all of the aforementioned cities will be competing for the “Golden Snowball” once more. The recipient is the New York City neighborhood that has the highest annual snowfall.
Despite suffering through two major storms in November and December of last year, Buffalo was crowned champion.
With 71.4 inches of snow—far less than the usual average of 95.4 inches—Buffalo topped the list.
Second place went to Syracuse with 60.8 inches, while third place went to Rochester with 52.5 inches. Those two sums fell significantly short of the annual averages.
Should we expect a repeat of last winter’s mild weather or should we stock up on snow?
Here you may find the most up-to-date winter forecast for New York State according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
