Lake-Effect Snow, Lewis
- When
- January 26, 10:00 PM EST to January 27, 9:30 AM EST
- Where
- Lewis forecast zone
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 43.785, -75.449 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lake-Effect Snow in New York, January 26 to 27, 2016
In the wake of a cold front, a narrow band of lake effect snow developed east of Lake Ontario. Lake effect snow developed in the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 27th as a ten to fifteen mile wide band of snow across southern Jefferson and western 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.
In the wake of a cold front, a narrow band of lake effect snow developed east of Lake Ontario. Lake effect snow developed in the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 27th as a ten to fifteen mile wide band of snow across southern Jefferson and western Lewis counties. Snowfall rates of up to two inches per hour occurred. As the band of snow reached peak intensity, several flashes of lightning were seen over southern Jefferson and western Lewis counties between 630 and 730 am. Winds quickly veered to northwesterly where the snow diminished. Specific snowfall reports for this brief event included 12 inches at Lowville, and 9 inches at Constableville and Beaver Falls.
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 26, 9:54 PM EST, 6 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 26, 9:54 PM EST, 6 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 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, January 2016
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: 616684.