New York, 2003

Heavy Snow in New York, December 14, 2003

December 14, 2003 · NWS BUF · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Low pressure intensified as it moved from the Gulf Coast up the mid-Atlantic coast to New England and brought a general snow to the entire region. The event lasted 24 to 30 hours from the early morning of Sunday the 14th through early Monday.

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
$190,000
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 BUF wrote it up.

Low pressure intensified as it moved from the Gulf Coast up the mid-Atlantic coast to New England and brought a general snow to the entire region. The event lasted 24 to 30 hours from the early morning of Sunday the 14th through early Monday. Amounts across the Genesee Valley and western Finger Lakes ranged from six to twelve inches while across the eastern Lake Ontario region one to two feet of snow fell. Specific storm total amounts reported were: 21" in Brantingham; 20" in Lowville; 18" in West Monroe and Redfield; 17" in Fulton; 16" in Woodville and Hooker; 15" in Highmarket, Fairhaven and Macedon; 14" in Fort Drum; 13" in Oswego and Spencerport; 12" in Walworth and Greece; 11" in Webster and Fairport; 10" in Penfield and Rochester; 9" in Victor; 8" in Whitesville and Batavia; and 7" in Geneva, Dansville, Wellsville, Warsaw, Leroy and Albion. The typical rash of automobile accidents occurred as a result of the wintry conditions. Several injuries, some serious, and one fatality (in Ira) were a reported in the accidents. At the Rochester International Airport, a small plane slid off a taxiway and got stuck in the snow.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Genesee

When
December 14, 12:40 PM EST
Where
Genesee forecast zone
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.001, -78.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Monroe

When
December 14, 2:55 PM EST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.165, -77.636 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Orleans

When
December 14, 4:00 PM EST
Where
Orleans forecast zone
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.251, -78.189 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wyoming

When
December 14, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Wyoming forecast zone
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.702, -78.224 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Jefferson

When
December 14, 5:07 PM EST
Where
Jefferson forecast zone
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.999, -76.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Oswego

When
December 14, 5:10 PM EST
Where
Oswego forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.464, -76.209 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Livingston

When
December 14, 5:15 PM EST
Where
Livingston forecast zone
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.728, -77.775 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cattaraugus

When
December 14, 5:15 PM EST
Where
Cattaraugus forecast zone
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.249, -78.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lewis

When
December 14, 5:19 PM EST
Where
Lewis forecast zone
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.785, -75.449 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Cayuga

When
December 14, 5:30 PM EST
Where
Northern Cayuga forecast zone
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.010, -76.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ontario

When
December 14, 5:30 PM EST
Where
Ontario forecast zone
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.853, -77.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Allegany

When
December 14, 5:30 PM EST
Where
Allegany forecast zone
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.257, -78.028 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wayne

When
December 14, 6:15 PM EST
Where
Wayne forecast zone
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.066, -76.978 (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

More

Every storm in New York in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, December 2003

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: 5328327, 5328328, 5328329, 5328330, 5328331, 5328332, 5328333, 5328334, 5328335, 5328336, 5328337, 5328338, 5328339.