Lake-Effect Snow in New York, December 1 to 3, 2010

Name: Lake-Effect Snow in New York, December 1 to 3, 2010
Start: 2010-12-01T15:00
End: 2010-12-03T05:00
Location: New York

December 1 to 3, 2010 · NWS BUF · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: $170,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 second lake effect event of the winter season was one of the most intense and disruptive storms on record for the Buffalo area. It will be remembered not only for its intense and deep snowfalls, but for the incredibly tight snowfall gradient on the northern edge across the most densely populated region of metro Buffalo, attesting to its remarkable steady state, moving less than 3 miles during a 30 hour period. This allowed snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour to fall over the exact same area. The event evolved quickly as a major synoptic storm departed the area. Temperatures on the 1st started the day in the 50s but fell rapidly. A lake plume developed off Lake Erie by early afternoon on a southwest flow and intensified by 3 pm as it rolled into the Buffalo South Towns. The band then lifted north a bit during the early evening and remained pretty much locked in place for the next 30 hours or so. There was the typical thunder and lightning often seen during early season events. The wind fields finally weakened with increasing shear as a surface ridge built in by Friday morning the 3rd, disrupting and dissipating the band.|Snowfall amounts were incredible within the band. A general 30 to 40 inches fell in about a five mile strip which ran from Lackawanna and southeast Buffalo, east northeast across northern West Seneca, south Cheektowaga, Depew and Lancaster over to Alden. Amounts dropped off steadily to the south, with about a foot in Orchard Park and less further south. The real story was the northern gradient though. Amounts dropped from two feet to a dusting in just a 3 or 4 mile distance! This was evident along north-south roads like Transit and Harlem. For example, no measurable snow fell at Main and Harlem, but two feet at Walden and Harlem. The Buffalo Airport was right at the cutoff, with 2 inches at its northwest corner and a foot at its southeast corner! Further west, no snow fell in Buffalo at North Street; four inches at fell City Hall and a foot fell near HSBC arena. |This event had major impact, not only in the 300,000 or so people affected, but from a major backup and shut down of the NYS Thruway from Exit 52 to 54, with hundreds stranded for almost 24 hours. |Reported snow totals: 42 Depew; 30 Elma, Lancaster and West Seneca; 23 Marilla; 17 Darien; 16 Wales; 14 Akron; 11 East Aurora and Warsaw; and Buffalo trace across North Buffalo to 39 across the southeast corner of the city.|Activity off Lake Ontario, usually fairly similar to Erie, did not materialize nearly as well this time. There was a broad area of snow showers and heavier snow, but single banding never did develop. Shear was much greater and temperatures a bit milder and marginal. A narrow band of eight inch snowfall fell across areas where the snow persisted longest just north of Watertown (Calcium) over to Harrisville.

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 1, 12:43 PM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 1, 12:43 PM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 1, 11:57 AM EST, 3 hours 3 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 1, 10:41 AM EST, 4 hours 19 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Dec 1, 11:33 AM EST, 3 hours 27 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Dec 1, 1:10 PM EST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Dec 1, 2:30 PM EST, 30 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Dec 1, 2:34 PM EST, 26 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

6 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Lake-Effect Snow, Northern Erie

When: December 1, 3:00 PM EST to December 2, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 42.758, -78.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Genesee

When: December 1, 3:00 PM EST to December 2, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Genesee forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 43.001, -78.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Wyoming

When: December 1, 3:00 PM EST to December 2, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Wyoming forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 42.702, -78.224 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Southern Erie

When: December 1, 3:00 PM EST to December 2, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 42.758, -78.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Jefferson

When: December 1, 9:00 PM EST to December 3, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.999, -76.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Lewis

When: December 1, 9:00 PM EST to December 3, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Lewis forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 43.785, -75.449 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in New York in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, December 2010

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: 274424, 274425, 274426, 274428, 274429, 274430.