Winter Storm in New York, December 29 to 30, 1997

Name: Winter Storm in New York, December 29 to 30, 1997
Start: 1997-12-29T16:00
End: 1997-12-30T18:00
Location: New York

December 29 to 30, 1997 · NWS ALY · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $155,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS ALY wrote it up.

On December 29 and 30, a winter storm tracked from Cape Hatteras to northern New England. This storm produced heavy snow across the Catskills, eastern Mohawk Valley, southern Adirondacks, northern Saratoga County and the surrounding higher terrain north and west of the Capital District. The heavy wet snow caused scattered power outages, especially in the Mohawk Valley and northern Catskills. Power outages were most widespread in southern Herkimer, Fulton, Montgomery and Schoharie Counties. At Amsterdam in Montgomery County, power was out for approximately eleven hours. Across the remainder of eastern New York, the precipitation fell as a mix of snow, sleet and rain. Due to this mixed precipitation event, snow totals only reached 2 to 5 inches in this region. Some specific snowfall totals included: 19 inches at Summit in Schoharie County, 15 inches at Windham in western Greene County, 15 inches at Old Forge in northern Herkimer County, 11 inches at Indian Lake in Hamilton County, 18 inches at Little Falls in southern Herkimer County, 14 inches at Slide Mountain in western Ulster County, 9 inches at Warrensburg in Warren County and 11 inches at Caroga Lake in Fulton County.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Eastern Schenectady

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Schenectady forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 42.818, -74.059 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fulton

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Fulton forecast zone
Property damage: $30,000
Coordinates: 43.114, -74.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hamilton

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 43.661, -74.497 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Montgomery

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Property damage: $30,000
Coordinates: 42.902, -74.440 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Herkimer

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Herkimer forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 43.420, -74.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Saratoga

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Saratoga forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.107, -73.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Schoharie

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Schoharie forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 42.588, -74.442 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Herkimer

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Herkimer forecast zone
Property damage: $30,000
Coordinates: 43.420, -74.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Warren

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.561, -73.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Western Albany

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Western Albany forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.600, -73.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Western Greene

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Western Greene forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.277, -74.123 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Western Schenectady

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Western Schenectady forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.818, -74.059 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Western Ulster

When: December 29, 4:00 PM EST to December 30, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Western Ulster forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 41.888, -74.259 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5619500, 5619501, 5619502, 5619503, 5619504, 5619505, 5619506, 5619507, 5619508, 5619509, 5619510, 5619511, 5619512.