Lake-Effect Snow, Oswego
- When
- December 16, 9:00 AM EST to December 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Oswego forecast zone
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Reported by
- CoCoRaHS
- Coordinates
- 43.464, -76.209 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lake-Effect Snow in New York, December 16 to 17, 2009
The winter lake effect season's second storm was a marginal one and restricted mainly to snows off Lake Ontario. It began following a cold front as a westerly flow set off a band of fairly heavy lake snows by midday Wednesday (16th) across portions of northern Oswego and southern Lewis counties.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
The winter lake effect season's second storm was a marginal one and restricted mainly to snows off Lake Ontario. It began following a cold front as a westerly flow set off a band of fairly heavy lake snows by midday Wednesday (16th) across portions of northern Oswego and southern Lewis counties. The flow veered to northwest Wednesday evening and snow bands shifted south across Oswego county. A good streamer off Georgian Bay reached western Lake Ontario and was enhanced as it crossed the lake right across the Rochester metro area which received several inches of snow during the evening. Another lake snow band developed over eastern Lake Ontario and dropped several inches as it crossed western Oswego county on a north-northwest flow. This event was relatively minor with few affects. It did drop several inches on greater Rochester but it was during the mid and late evening with minimal traffic impact. Heavier snows were restricted to a small area in western Oswego county. Specific snowfall amounts included: Scriba 15 inches; Minetto 13 inches; Palermo 10 inches; and Martville 8 inches. The Rochester metro are received between four and seven inches.
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 Buffalo, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 15, 6:29 PM EST, 14 hours 31 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 15, 6:29 PM EST, 14 hours 31 minutes before
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</html>Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 15, 4:05 PM EST, 16 hours 55 minutes before
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</html>The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Lake-Effect Snow
- Heavy snow in bands downwind of a large lake as cold air crosses warmer water.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in New York in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, December 2009
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: 206986.