Winter Season Summary 2006 - 2007

Winter 2006 - 2007 

NOUS41 KBUF 141513
PNSBUF
NYZ001>008-010>014-019>021-085-181200-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
1030 AM EDT MON MAY 14 2007

...2006-2007 SEASON SNOWFALL SUMMARY...

WITH THE ONSET AND CONTINUATION OF THE FINE MAY WEATHER...IT IS
NOW SAFE TO CLOSE THE CHAPTER ON YET ANOTHER WINTER ACROSS WESTERN
AND CENTRAL NEW YORK. THE FOLLOWING IS OUR ANNUAL SUMMARY...WITH
SNOWFALL NUMBERS COURTESY OF OUR COOPERATIVE OBSERVERS AND OUR 200
PLUS PERSON SNOWSPOTTER NETWORK.

THE WINTER OF 2006-07 WAS CERTAINLY A UNIQUE ONE FOR WESTERN AND
CENTRAL NEW YORK. IT WAS BRACKETED BY EXTREME EVENTS IN OCTOBER AND
APRIL...BUT GENERALLY STARTED VERY LATE BUT ENDED RELUCTANTLY. IT
WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR THE FREAK OCTOBER LAKE SNOW WHICH CRIPPLED
THE BUFFALO AREA...BUT NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER WERE AMONG THE WARMEST
IN HISTORY AND LITTLE COLD OR SNOW WAS EVIDENT ANYWHERE UNTIL MID
JANUARY. BUT A HARSH 6 TO 8 WEEK PERIOD FOLLOWED WHICH INCLUDED THE
COLDEST FEBRUARY IN 28 YEARS. SPRING TEASED US IN LATE MARCH BEFORE
UNUSUAL COLD AND SNOW RETURNED FOR MUCH OF APRIL. REAL SPRING
FINALLY ARRIVED IN LATE APRIL AND HAS CONTINUED INTO A VERY PLEASANT
MAY. WINTER AS A WHOLE THOUGH WAS SOMEWHAT MILD WITH NEAR NORMAL
SNOWFALL.

MOST OF THE SNOWFALL WAS CONCENTRATED IN THE 8 WEEK PERIOD FROM LATE
JANUARY THROUGH MID MARCH BUT DESPITE THIS RELATIVELY NARROW
WINDOW...IT WAS FREQUENT AND HEAVY ENOUGH TO BRING MOST OF THE
REGION UP TO NEAR THE SEASONAL NORMS WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS. SNOWBELT
AREAS OFF BOTH LAKES DID QUITE WELL AS LAKE EFFECT SNOWS WERE NEARLY
CONSTANT DURING THIS PERIOD. THIS WAS AIDED BY THE WARMER THAN USUAL
LAKES...BUT ERIE DID EVENTUALLY FREEZE BY MID FEBRUARY. THERE WERE
14 NAMED LAKE EFFECT "EVENTS" THIS SEASON...FOUR MORE THAN USUAL.
THESE INCLUDED ONLY THE SECOND AND THIRD OCTOBER EVENTS AND THE
FIRST APRIL EVENT IN THE 13 YEAR HISTORY.

THERE WERE ONLY TWO SIGNIFICANT SYNOPTIC (GENERAL) SNOWFALL EVENTS
DURING THE WINTER...THE FEBRUARY 14TH ONE WHICH DROPPED A GENERAL 8
TO 16 INCHES...EVEN MORE IN THE ROCHESTER AREA...AND THE APRIL 15-16
EVENT WHICH WAS HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON ELEVATION IN REGARDS TO RAIN OR
SNOW.

SEASON SNOWFALL TOTALS IN WESTERN NEW YORK WERE IN EXCESS OF 200
INCHES ALONG THE CHAUTAUQUA RIDGE AND AT A FEW HIGH ELEVATION SPOTS
IN SKI COUNTRY...BUT DROPPED OFF SHARPLY AS USUAL NEAR LAKE ERIE TO
AROUND 80 INCHES IN THE DUNKIRK AREA...AND DROPPED OFF MORE
GRADUALLY SOUTH AND EAST TO 130 INCHES NEAR JAMESTOWN AND TO 60 TO
80 INCHES FROM OLEAN TO WELLSVILLE.

THE BUFFALO AREA HAD A STRANGE WINTER IN REGARDS TO SNOWFALL. THE
FREAK OCTOBER STORM SHATTERED ALL EARLY SEASON RECORDS...BUT THEN NO
MAJOR SNOWS FELL THE ENTIRE WINTER SEASON...WITH JUST A COUPLE OF
MODERATE FALLS AND MANY MINOR NUISANCE ONES THROUGH THE COLD PERIOD
IN FEBRUARY INTO EARLY MARCH. TOTALS WERE A BIT BELOW NORMAL...EVEN
INCLUDING THE OCTOBER EVENT. THEY RANGED FROM 60-70 INCHES ACROSS
THE NORTHERN SUBURBS...TO 70 TO 90 INCHES IN CITY...AND 90 TO 100
INCHES JUST SOUTH AND EAST. ABOUT 60 TO 80 INCHES FELL ACROSS
NIAGARA COUNTY. THERE WAS A SHARP GRADIENT ACROSS THE SOUTH TOWNS
THOUGH...WITH OVER 150 INCHES FALLING FROM EAST AURORA DOWN INTO SKI
COUNTRY. BUFFALO HAD SNOW COVER ON ONLY FIVE DAYS FROM NOVEMBER
THROUGH JANUARY 19...BUT THEN 51 CONSECUTIVE DAYS THEREAFTER.
THANKSGIVING, CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR`S DAY WERE ALL GREEN WITH 50
DEGREE TEMPERATURES.

THE ROCHESTER AREA ALSO SAW AN UNUSUAL SNOWFALL REGIME. SEASON TOTALS
WERE IN THE NORMAL RANGE...FROM 100 INCHES NEAR THE LAKE TO 60-70
INCHES SOUTH OF THE THRUWAY...BUT THIS MASKS THE NEAR RECORD LACK OF
SNOW (LEAST IN 67 YEARS) THROUGH MID JANUARY WHICH WAS ABRUPTLY
FOLLOWED BY A VERY SNOWY 6 WEEKS WHICH SAW SNOW ON NEARLY EVERY DAY.
THE ONLY LARGE STORM WAS THE FEBRUARY 14 SYNOPTIC EVENT WHICH
DROPPED UP TO 20 INCHES ACROSS THE METRO AREA THANKS TO A GOOD BOOST
FROM LAKE ONTARIO. THE GENESEE VALLEY AGAIN SHOWED A RELATIVE
MINIMUM BEING FARTHEST FROM LAKE INFLUENCES. SEASON TOTALS WERE IN
THE 50-70 INCH RANGE THERE...CLOSE TO NORMAL.

EAST OF LAKE ONTARIO...THE TUG HILL WAS AGAIN THE BIG WINNER. AFTER
A SLOW START...LAKE SNOWS PUMMELED THE REGION FOR THE 8 WEEK COLD
PERIOD. THE FEBRUARY 3-12 EVENT WAS HISTORIC WITH OVER FIVE FEET
FALLING ACROSS MOST OF OSWEGO COUNTY AND OVER TEN FEET ON THE WEST
SIDE OF THE TUG HILL. SEASON TOTALS WERE A BIT ABOVE NORMAL...WITH
SEVERAL SPOTS ON THE TUG HILL OVER 300 INCHES AND MOST OF OSWEGO
COUNTY OVER 200 INCHES. THE BLACK RIVER VALLEY WAS STRONGLY SHADOWED
AS USUAL BUT STILL CAUGHT OVER 100 INCHES. EVEN THE WATERTOWN AREA
WAS PLAGUED WITH A FEW SOUTHWEST LAKE EVENTS TO BRING SEASON TOTALS
UP TO NEAR 120 INCHES BUT AMOUNTS DROPPED OFF SIGNIFICANTLY AS USUAL
TOWARD THE ST LAWRENCE VALLEY WITH 60 INCHES OR SO IN THE THOUSAND
ISLANDS REGION.

HERE ARE SOME REPRESENTATIVE SEASON TOTALS BY COUNTY. MULTIPLE
REPORTS FROM THE SAME TOWN OR CITY HAVE BEEN AVERAGED...


...NIAGARA COUNTY...

.RANSOMVILLE... 91 INCHES
.LOCKPORT...... 83 INCHES
.MIDDLEPORT.... 80 INCHES
.NIAGARA FALLS. 78 INCHES
.NO.TONAWANDA.. 78 INCHES
.YOUNGSTOWN.... 65 INCHES
.LEWISTON...... 57 INCHES


...ORLEANS COUNTY...

.ALBION........ 72 INCHES
.LYNDONVILLE... 63 INCHES


...ERIE COUNTY (NORTH)...

.BUFFALO(SO.).. 86 INCHES
.BUFFALO(CITY). 75 INCHES
.BUFFALO(NO.)   71 INCHES  (DEL.PARK)

.ALDEN.........107 INCHES
.WEST SENECA... 98 INCHES
.ELMA.......... 97 INCHES
.CHEEKTOWAGA... 95 INCHES
.LANCASTER..... 92 INCHES
.BUF AIRPORT... 88.9 INCHES (NWS)
.AMHERST....... 88 INCHES
.DEPEW......... 88 INCHES
.CLARENCE...... 83 INCHES
.KENMORE....... 71 INCHES
.EAST AMHERST.. 70 INCHES
.TONAWANDA(TOWN)68 INCHES
.GRAND ISLAND.. 51 INCHES


...ERIE COUNTY (SOUTH)...

.COLDEN....... 182 INCHES
.BOSTON....... 176 INCHES
.EDEN......... 175 INCHES
.CHAFFEE...... 168 INCHES
.EAST AURORA.. 166 INCHES
.NO.BOSTON.... 151 INCHES
.SO.WALES..... 126 INCHES
.HAMBURG(VILL) 124 INCHES
.MARILLA...... 106 INCHES
.ORCHARD PARK. 105 INCHES
.HAMBURG(LKSH)  90 INCHES (BLASDELL)


...GENESEE COUNTY...

.DARIEN CTR... 105 INCHES
.BATAVIA...... 102 INCHES
.BASOM........  90 INCHES
.LEROY........  75 INCHES
.PAVILION.....  61 INCHES
.STAFFORD.....  58 INCHES


...WYOMING COUNTY...

.WARSAW (HILL) 190 INCHES
.PERRY........ 124 INCHES
.BENNINGTON... 112 INCHES
.PORTAGEVILLE.  68 INCHES


...CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY...

.MAYVILLE..... 241 INCHES
.SINCLAIRVILLE 205 INCHES
.ARKWRIGHT.... 182 INCHES
.ELLINGTON.... 182 INCHES
.CASSADAGA.... 177 INCHES
.STOCKTON..... 176 INCHES
.BEMUS POINT.. 156 INCHES
.SHERMAN...... 153 INCHES
.JAMESTOWN.... 136 INCHES
.FREWSBURG.... 106 INCHES
.FREDONIA.....  84 INCHES
.DUNKIRK......  83 INCHES
.SILVER CREEK.  60 INCHES


...CATTARAUGUS COUNTY...

.PERRYSBURG... 238 INCHES
.SO. DAYTON... 235 INCHES
.YORKSHIRE.... 223 INCHES
.ELLICOTTVILLE 198 INCHES
.WEST VALLEY.. 174 INCHES
.LITTLE VALLEY 128 INCHES
.NEW ALBION... 123 INCHES
.SALAMANCA.... 120 INCHES
.FRANKLINVILLE 117 INCHES
.RANDOLPH.....  97 INCHES
.ALLEGANY.....  89 INCHES
.OLEAN........  78 INCHES


...ALLEGANY COUNTY...

.FRIENDSHIP... 112 INCHES
.RUSHFORD..... 108 INCHES
.CUBA......... 101 INCHES
.ALFRED.......  96 INCHES
.BIRDSALL.....  89 INCHES
.ANGELICA.....  74 INCHES
.WELLSVILLE...  64 INCHES
.WHITESVILLE..  50 INCHES


...MONROE COUNTY...

.HILTON....... 115 INCHES
.HAMLIN....... 113 INCHES
.PERINTON..... 112 INCHES
.ROCH AIRPORT. 107.2 INCHES (NWS)
.PENFIELD..... 102 INCHES
.GREECE....... 100 INCHES
.BROCKPORT....  99 INCHES
.FAIRPORT.....  96 INCHES
.WEBSTER......  93 INCHES
.ROCHESTER(CITY)91 INCHES
.ROCHESTER(NO.) 84 INCHES (CHARLOTTE)
.BRIGHTON.....  83 INCHES
.PITTSFORD....  78 INCHES
.CHILI........  78 INCHES
.MENDON.......  76 INCHES
.SCOTTSVILLE..  61 INCHES
.HONEOYE FALLS. 52 INCHES


...WAYNE COUNTY...

.WALWORTH..... 123 INCHES
.ONTARIO...... 122 INCHES
.MARION....... 112 INCHES
.CLYDE........ 103 INCHES
.NEWARK.......  97 INCHES
.PALMYRA......  94 INCHES
.SODUS CENTER.  71 INCHES


...LIVINGSTON COUNTY...

.WAYLAND...... 109 INCHES (STEUBEN CO.)
.SCOTTSBURG... 103 INCHES
.SPRINGWATER..  93 INCHES
.NUNDA........  78 INCHES
.LIVONIA......  72 INCHES
.GENESEO......  71 INCHES
.DANSVILLE....  54 INCHES
.AVON.........  50 INCHES


...ONTARIO COUNTY...

.STANLEY....... 75 INCHES
.CANANDAIGUA... 66 INCHES
.GENEVA........ 51 INCHES
.HONEOYE LAKE.. 48 INCHES


...CAYUGA COUNTY...

.CATO-MERIDIAN 152 INCHES
.FAIR HAVEN... 134 INCHES
.MONTEZUMA....  78 INCHES


...OSWEGO COUNTY...

.REDFIELD..... 388 INCHES
.PALERMO...... 275 INCHES
.PARISH....... 269 INCHES
.BENNETTS BRG. 242 INCHES
.MEXICO....... 227 INCHES
.PULASKI...... 221 INCHES
.MINETTO...... 221 INCHES
.WEST MONROE.. 217 INCHES
.FULTON....... 217 INCHES
.SCRIBA....... 213 INCHES
.CONSTANTIA... 207 INCHES
.HANNIBAL..... 198 INCHES
.OSWEGO SW.... 196 INCHES
.OSWEGO....... 160 INCHES  (CITY)


...LEWIS COUNTY...

.NO. OSCEOLA.. 336 INCHES
.BARNES CORS.. 282 INCHES
.HIGHMARKET... 278 INCHES
.HOOKER....... 258 INCHES
.LOWVILLE..... 138 INCHES
.HARRISVILLE.. 112 INCHES
.LOWVILLE.....  97 INCHES


...JEFFERSON COUNTY...

.CARTHAGE..... 157 INCHES
.ADAMS........ 121 INCHES
.WATERTOWN.... 120 INCHES
.BROWNVILLE...  72 INCHES
.REDWOOD......  63 INCHES
.CLAYTON......  56 INCHES


...SOUTHERN ONTARIO CANADA...

.ST.CATHARINES. 48 INCHES
.VINELAND...... 46 INCHES
.TORONTO....... 27 INCHES (DOWNTOWN)


AGAIN WE THANK OUR OVER 200 CO-OPERATIVE OBSERVERS AND SNOWSPOTTER
VOLUNTEERS FOR INFORMATION USED IN THIS REPORT.

$$