Lake-Effect Snow in New York, December 5 to 8, 2010

Name: Lake-Effect Snow in New York, December 5 to 8, 2010
Start: 2010-12-05T16:00
End: 2010-12-08T20:00
Location: New York

December 5 to 8, 2010 · NWS BUF · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $125,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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.

A strong northwest flow of arctic air with plenty of lingering synoptic moisture from a low over Quebec produced long lasting lake effect snow squalls to the southeast of Lakes Erie and Ontario. Upstream influences from Georgian Bay and Lake Huron only intensified the activity. |The event began on Sunday 5th with strong bands off Lakes Huron and Ontario. The Ontario band worked across the Rochester area during the afternoon and then slowly settled south overnight, and combined with a Georgian Bay band to drop 4 to 8 inches on Buffalo's north suburbs on Monday 6th. This activity broke down later Monday but strong bands set up Monday night and continued through Wednesday night in an area from Rochester to Syracuse as winds backed for better fetch. There was also a persistent band over far northern Oswego County northeast into the western Tug Hill, with a major upslope component, aided by the western edge of the synoptic snowfall.|To the west, the story was a major and long lasting plume which originated off Lake Huron and extended across London and Lake Erie and then on down across central Chautauqua and southwest Cattaraugus counties into northwest Pennsylvania. This plume was very persistent and moved only a few miles in three days. Snowfall amounts under this band were prodigious, up to near 4 feet at Randolph. Two to four feet fell within the narrow band off Lake Ontario.|Specific snowfall reports off Lake Erie included: Randolph 47 inches; Cherry Hill 34 inches; Perrysburg 25 inches; Hinsdale 24 inches; and Franklinville 19 inches. Off Lake Ontario reported snow totals included: Lacona 51 inches; Newark 42 inches; Fulton and Marion 29 inches; Rochester 24 inches; and Phoenix 22 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 5, 3:49 PM EST, 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 5, 3:49 PM EST, 11 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 5, 3:44 PM EST, 16 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 5, 11:39 AM EST, 4 hours 21 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Dec 5, 12:29 PM EST, 3 hours 31 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Dec 5, 12:49 PM EST, 3 hours 11 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Dec 5, 3:00 PM EST, 1 hour 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

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

Lake-Effect Snow, Chautauqua

When: December 5, 4:00 PM EST to December 8, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Chautauqua forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 42.303, -79.406 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Cattaraugus

When: December 5, 4:00 PM EST to December 8, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Cattaraugus forecast zone
Property damage: $35,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.249, -78.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Monroe

When: December 5, 4:00 PM EST to December 8, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Monroe forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.165, -77.636 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Wayne

When: December 5, 8:00 PM EST to December 8, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 43.066, -76.978 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Northern Cayuga

When: December 5, 8:00 PM EST to December 8, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Cayuga forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 43.010, -76.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Oswego

When: December 5, 10:00 PM EST to December 8, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Oswego forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 43.464, -76.209 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Jefferson

When: December 7, 3:00 AM EST to December 8, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.999, -76.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Lewis

When: December 7, 3:00 AM EST to December 8, 2:00 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: 274431, 274432, 274433, 274434, 274435, 274436, 274437, 274438.