Heavy Snow in New York, March 20 to 22, 1998

Name: Heavy Snow in New York, March 20 to 22, 1998
Start: 1998-03-20T21:00
End: 1998-03-22T09:00
Location: New York

March 20 to 22, 1998 · 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, Broome

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Broome forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.160, -75.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chemung

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Chemung forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.141, -76.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chenango

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Chenango forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.494, -75.612 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cortland

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Cortland forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.595, -76.070 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Delaware

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.198, -74.966 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Madison

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.913, -75.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Oneida

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Oneida forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.242, -75.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A low pressure system slowly intensified over the Carolinas from the evening of the 20th through much of the day on the 21st. A notable spoke of upper level energy rotated around this storm and affected central New York during the early morning hours on the 21st. A burst of heavy snow resulted, which was mixed with sleet and freezing rain near the New York/Pennsylvania border. This round of snow was primarily concentrated from the central southern tier of New York northward into the Finger Lakes region, where 4 to 8 inches fell within roughly a 6 hour period. From the evening of the 21st through the 22nd, the storm center began to move northeastward off the Mid-Altantic coast while strengthening further. As this occurred, narrow bands of very heavy snowfall developed overnight into the early morning of the 22nd. Snowfall totals for this entire event were heaviest across the Finger Lakes and central southern tier regions. Accumulations of 6 to 10 inches were common, with isolated reports of 12 to 15 inches. Alpine in Chemung county picked up 15 inches, Penn Yan in Yates county received 9 inches, while Auburn and Sterling in Cayuga county got 10 to 11 inches. Another narrow region of heavier snow occurred from eastern Broome and Otsego counties into the Catskills early in the morning on the 22nd. Amounts of 7 to 11 inches were common here, including 9.5 inches in Afton of Broome county and 9 inches in Stamford of Delaware county. Elsewhere in central New York, event totals averaged 4 to 7 inches by the time snow tapered off during the mid to late morning of the 22nd.

Heavy Snow, Onondaga

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Onondaga forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.006, -76.195 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Otsego

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Otsego forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.634, -75.033 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Schuyler

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Schuyler forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.394, -76.875 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Seneca

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Seneca forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.781, -76.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Cayuga

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Cayuga forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.010, -76.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Oneida

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Oneida forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.242, -75.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Steuben

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Steuben forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.268, -77.384 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sullivan

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Sullivan forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.716, -74.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tioga

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Tioga forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.170, -76.306 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tompkins

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Tompkins forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.452, -76.474 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Yates

When: March 20, 9:00 PM EST to March 22, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Yates forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.633, -77.105 (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 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, March 1998

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: 5630079, 5630080, 5630081, 5630082, 5630083, 5630084, 5630518, 5630519, 5630520, 5630521, 5630522, 5630523, 5630524, 5630525, 5630526, 5630527, 5630528, 5630529.