Heavy Snow in New York, December 29 to 30, 1997

Name: Heavy Snow in New York, December 29 to 30, 1997
Start: 1997-12-29T17:00
End: 1997-12-30T13:00
Location: New York

December 29 to 30, 1997 · NWS BGM · 18 events in 18 counties and zones

18 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 18 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 18

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

18 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Steuben

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Steuben forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.268, -77.384 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Schuyler

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Schuyler forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.394, -76.875 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chemung

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Chemung forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.141, -76.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tompkins

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Tompkins forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.452, -76.474 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tioga

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Tioga forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.170, -76.306 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Yates

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Yates forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.633, -77.105 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Seneca

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Seneca forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.781, -76.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Cayuga

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Cayuga forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.010, -76.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Onondaga

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Onondaga forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.006, -76.195 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cortland

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Cortland forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.595, -76.070 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Broome

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Broome forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.160, -75.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A storm system rapidly intensified off the New Jersey coast during the evening of the 29th, then moved very slowly northward overnight and during the day on the 30th. This system threw substantial altlantic moisture inland over a cold air mass in place across central New York. This resulted in a period of intense snowfall from late at night on the 29th until midday on the 30th. A narrow deformation zone developed from the Syracuse area southward into the central southern tier during this time frame. Snowfall totals were significantly enhanced within this band. In general, event totals ranged from 10 to 15 inches across central New York. However, amounts of between 20 and 30 inches were common from the Syracuse metro area southward along the I-81 corridor to Cortland, then westward to the Elmira/Corning area. Some specific amounts included Homer in Cortland county - 27 inches, Ithaca and Groton in Tompkins county - 24 inches, Syracuse airport in Onondaga county - 24 inches, Veterans and Horseheads in Chemung county - 24 inches, and Danby in Tompkins county - 22 inches.

Heavy Snow, Northern Oneida

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Oneida forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.242, -75.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Oneida

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Oneida forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.242, -75.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Madison

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.913, -75.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chenango

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Chenango forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.494, -75.612 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Otsego

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Otsego forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.634, -75.033 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Delaware

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.198, -74.966 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sullivan

When: December 29, 5:00 PM EST to December 30, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Sullivan forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.716, -74.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New York in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, December 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5625632, 5625633, 5625634, 5625635, 5625636, 5625637, 5625638, 5625639, 5625640, 5625641, 5625642, 5625820, 5625821, 5625822, 5625823, 5625824, 5625825, 5625826.