Lake-Effect Snow in New York, January 13 to 14, 2012

Name: Lake-Effect Snow in New York, January 13 to 14, 2012
Start: 2012-01-13T18:00
End: 2012-01-14T10:00
Location: New York

January 13 to 14, 2012 · NWS BUF · 6 events in 5 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.

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $140,000
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.

Cold air crossing the relatively warmer waters of Lakes Erie and Ontario produced bands of lake effect snow. By Friday evening the 13th, a band of lake effect snow off Lake Erie developed along and south of Route 20 dropping snow at rates up to 2 inches per hour. These bands of snow remained nearly stationary to start and with winds gusting to 40 mph. The bulk of the lake snow fell overnight Friday night, centered off Lake Erie over the Chautauqua Ridge where a combined one to two feet of snow fell along the Chautauqua Ridge by daybreak. Inland up to a foot of fresh snow fell over central Wyoming County southeastward towards the western southern tier. Specific reports received included: 34 at Perrysburg, 21 at Forestville, 16 at Glenwood, 15 at Warsaw, and 11 at S. Dayton. Off Lake Ontario lake effect snow waited until the overnight hours as the cold air continued to deepen. Snowfall rates up to 2 inches were experienced across the Tug Hill region overnight as well. Snow totals neared a foot and a half on the Tug Hill region by Saturday morning. By daybreak weak bands of snow settled southward over areas southeast of Lake Ontario. Specific snowfall reports included: 18 at Redfield, Copenhagen and Montague, 15 at Fulton, and 10 at Theresa.

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 Jan 13, 3:59 PM EST, 2 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 13, 3:59 PM EST, 2 hours 1 minute before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 13, 3:54 PM EST, 2 hours 6 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 13, 12:10 PM EST, 5 hours 50 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jan 13, 2:28 PM EST, 3 hours 32 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jan 13, 4:07 PM EST, 1 hour 53 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jan 13, 5:31 PM EST, 29 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, Wyoming

When: January 13, 6:00 PM EST to January 14, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Wyoming forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 42.702, -78.224 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Chautauqua

When: January 13, 6:00 PM EST to January 14, 10:00 AM 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: January 13, 6:00 PM EST to January 14, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Cattaraugus forecast zone
Property damage: $40,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 42.249, -78.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Oswego

When: January 13, 10:30 PM EST to January 14, 4:00 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, Lewis

When: January 13, 10:30 PM EST to January 14, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Lewis forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 43.785, -75.449 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Lewis

When: January 13, 10:30 PM EST to January 14, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Lewis forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
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 2012 Every state in 2012 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, January 2012

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: 363466, 363467, 363468, 363469, 363470, 363471.