Winter Weather in New York, December 24, 2008

Name: Winter Weather in New York, December 24, 2008
Start: 2008-12-24T04:00
End: 2008-12-24T18:00
Location: New York

December 24, 2008 · NWS ALY · 27 events in 27 counties and zones

A low pressure system tracked rapidly northeast, from the Great Lakes Wednesday morning on December 24th, to off the northern New England coast by Thursday morning on December 25th. A warm front associated with this low approached eastern New York and western New England during Wednesday, spreading a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain during the morning hours, before changing to plain…

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 27 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 27

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.

A low pressure system tracked rapidly northeast, from the Great Lakes Wednesday morning on December 24th, to off the northern New England coast by Thursday morning on December 25th.

A warm front associated with this low approached eastern New York and western New England during Wednesday, spreading a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain during the morning hours, before changing to plain rain by late Wednesday afternoon.

This wintry mix created treacherous travel conditions during the Wednesday morning commute.

Snow and sleet amounts of 1 to 4 inches fell across the Mohawk Valley, the southern Adirondacks, the Lake George and Saratoga region, and the upper Hudson Valley, with generally less than an inch elsewhere. In addition, ice accretion from freezing rain of up to one tenth of an inch occurred, especially within the immediate Capital District.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Albany, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 24, 3:40 AM EST, 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 24, 3:40 AM EST, 20 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 23, 4:25 PM EST, 11 hours 35 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

27 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Northern Herkimer

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Herkimer forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.420, -74.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Hamilton

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.661, -74.497 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southern Herkimer

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Herkimer forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.420, -74.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southern Fulton

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Fulton forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.114, -74.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Montgomery

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.902, -74.440 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Schoharie

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Schoharie forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.588, -74.442 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Western Schenectady

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Western Schenectady forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.818, -74.059 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Schenectady

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Schenectady forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.818, -74.059 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southern Saratoga

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Saratoga forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.107, -73.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Western Albany

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Western Albany forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.600, -73.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Northern Fulton

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Fulton forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.114, -74.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southern Washington

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Washington forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.314, -73.431 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Northern Saratoga

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Saratoga forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.107, -73.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Northern Warren

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Warren forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.561, -73.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Northern Washington

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Washington forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.314, -73.431 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southeast Warren

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Southeast Warren forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.561, -73.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Albany

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Albany forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.600, -73.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Western Rensselaer

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Western Rensselaer forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.711, -73.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Rensselaer

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Rensselaer forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.711, -73.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Western Greene

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Western Greene forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.277, -74.123 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Greene

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Greene forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.277, -74.123 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Western Columbia

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Western Columbia forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.250, -73.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Columbia

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Columbia forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.250, -73.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Western Ulster

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Western Ulster forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.888, -74.259 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Ulster

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Ulster forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.888, -74.259 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Western Dutchess

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Western Dutchess forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.765, -73.743 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Dutchess

When: December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Dutchess forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.765, -73.743 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New York in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, December 2008

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: 144214, 144215, 144216, 144217, 144218, 144219, 144220, 144221, 144222, 144223, 144224, 144225, 144226, 144227, 144228, 144229, 144230, 144231, 144232, 144233, 144234, 144235, 144236, 144237, 144238, 144239, 144240.