Lake-Effect Snow in New York, February 1 to 3, 2013

Name: Lake-Effect Snow in New York, February 1 to 3, 2013
Start: 2013-02-01T00:00
End: 2013-02-03T00:30
Location: New York

February 1 to 3, 2013 · NWS BUF · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

A rapidly deepening storm system moved eastward from Lake Huron and tracked north of Lake Ontario to southwestern Quebec. |Off Lake Erie, a narrow but intense band of lake effect snow across Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties.

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: $53,000
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.

A rapidly deepening storm system moved eastward from Lake Huron and tracked north of Lake Ontario to southwestern Quebec. The system was followed by a westerly flow of very cold air across the still unfrozen Great Lakes which triggered lake effect snows downwind of both lakes.|Off Lake Erie, a narrow but intense band of lake effect snow across Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties. Winds then backed to west-southwest and the band lifted north bringing lake snows into southern Erie and Wyoming Counties. As an upper level shortwave trough moved through, the snow shifted back south before an approaching system again brought the snows further north across the Buffalo metro area. Snowfall rates varied from one to as much as three inches of snow per hour. The greatest snow totals off Lake Erie fell across the Southern Tier where narrow but intense bands of snow brought localized amounts of over two feet of snow. Significant snows over one foot also fell across Grand Island and southern Niagara County. Much of the Greater Buffalo area had a large gradient in snow totals ranging from 3 inches to around a foot due to the transient nature of the band on Saturday morning.|Off Lake Ontario, lake snows organized into a narrow but intense band of snow over southern Jefferson County as winds aligned down the long axis of the lake. This band sagged south across central Oswego County where snowfall rates of up to 2 inches per hour were observed. The lake band briefly pushed south over the southern shore of Lake Ontario with heavier lake snows making for a messy morning commute in the Rochester metro area. The band then lifted north into Jefferson County with heavy snow for the Watertown area. Some of the highest snowfall rates of this event were observed across northern Jefferson County with three to four inches per hour falling. The greatest snow totals off Lake Ontario fell during two periods. During the first, six to as much as twenty-one inches were measured in central Oswego and southern Lewis Counties. During the second, six to sixteen inches were measured across northern Jefferson County.

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 31, 11:52 PM EST, 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 11:52 PM EST, 8 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 31, 9:47 PM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 31, 7:04 PM EST, 4 hours 56 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jan 31, 7:54 PM EST, 4 hours 6 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jan 31, 10:42 PM EST, 1 hour 18 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jan 31, 10:47 PM EST, 1 hour 13 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, Cattaraugus

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Cattaraugus forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 42.249, -78.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Oswego

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Oswego forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Social Media
Coordinates: 43.464, -76.209 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Jefferson

When: February 1, 1:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 43.999, -76.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Southern Erie

When: February 1, 1:00 AM EST to February 2, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.758, -78.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Northern Erie

When: February 1, 8:00 PM EST to February 3, 12:30 AM EST
Where: Northern Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 42.758, -78.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Niagara

When: February 2, 4:00 AM EST to 11:45 PM EST
Where: Niagara forecast zone
Property damage: $8,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.173, -78.691 (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 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, February 2013

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 437840, 437843, 437853, 437855, 437860, 437861.