Contact: Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.
Office: 607-255-3290
E-Mail: bpf2@cornell.edu
N.Y. -- The race for the title of the Northeast's snowiest city this winter is heating up. With 90.8 inches of snow through Jan. 20 (33.2 inches above normal), Syracuse, N.Y., is in the lead, according to Keith Eggleston, senior climatologist at Cornell University's Northeast Regional Climate Center.
Behind Syracuse is Erie, Pa., with 88.4 inches of snow so far this season (36.8 inches above normal). But this is far behind Erie's record snowfall of 110.8 inches set between Oct. 1 and Jan. 20, 1977-78.
The winter snow season for the Northeast officially starts Oct. 1 and ends on May 31.
Rochester, N.Y., trails Erie this season by one-tenth of an inch, followed by a surprise player, Albany, N.Y., with 74 inches. This is 44.3 inches above normal for Albany and outpaces its previous record snowfall of 66.4 inches between Oct. 1 and Jan. 20, 1969-70.
Buffalo, N.Y., last year's snowiest place in the Northeast region, sits in fifth place this season. Currently Buffalo has 71.8 inches of snow, well behind its record-setting snowfall of 142.4 inches (Oct. 1-Jan. 20 ) in an unforgettable year, 1976-77, when it ultimately snowed 199.4 inches.
Surprisingly, Caribou, Maine, is not in the top 10 right now. With 47.6 inches of snow so far this season, Caribou sits in 11th place, 7.8 inches below normal.
With spring two months away, the amount of snowfall in the Northeast should begin to ease, says Eggleston. "January is generally the snowiest month in the Northeast and on the average we should begin seeing a trend toward less snowfall as the winter begins to wind down," he notes.
(all values in inches; through January 20)
City 2002-2003 Departure Record Year of
Snowfall from Normal Record
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Syracuse, N.Y. 90.8 33.2 112.0 2000-01
Erie, Pa. 88.4 36.8 110.8 1977-78
Rochester, N.Y. 88.3 41.6 96.3 1977-78
Albany, N.Y. 74.0 44.3 66.4 1969-70
Buffalo, N.Y. 71.8 18.2 142.4 1976-77
Binghamton, N.Y. 68.4 29.6 89.7 1995-96
Ithaca, N.Y. 60.7 28.8 69.7 1995-96
Burlington, Vt. 56.8 18.4 76.5 1977-78
Worcester, Mass. 55.3 28.8 54.7 1960-61
Concord, N.H. 53.5 23.1 63.2 1956-57
Caribou, Maine 47.6 -7.8 85.6 1972-73
Cleveland 45.1 15.5 67.9 1977-78
Portland, Maine 38.2 8.1 79.7 1922-23
Hartford, Conn. 35.8 15.5 66.9 1995-96
Williamsport, Pa. 31.4 13.7 69.1 1995-96
Pittsburgh 25.2 6.9 53.5 1993-94
Harrisburg, Pa. 22.3 9.1 64.3 1995-96
Bridgeport, Conn. 20.2 10.4 35.9 1995-96
Providence, R.I. 19.8 5.9 50.5 1977-78
Boston 18.2 1.6 65.1 1995-96
Baltimore 14.2 7.4 35.9 1995-96
Newark, N.J. 13.9 4.7 46.9 1995-96
New York City 13.2 5.0 44.6 1947-48
Wilmington, Del. 13.0 5.6 32.8 1995-96
Philadelphia 12.4 5.8 32.9 1960-61
Washington, D.C. 10.8 4.6 25.6 1995-96
Atlantic City, N.J. 8.1 3.3 22.8 1963-64
Data compiled by the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.
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