Lake-Effect Snow in New York, December 10 to 11, 2017

Name: Lake-Effect Snow in New York, December 10 to 11, 2017
Start: 2017-12-10T11:00
End: 2017-12-11T07:00
Location: New York

December 10 to 11, 2017 · NWS ALY · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 ALY wrote it up.

Behind a departing coastal storm, a band of lake-effect snow developed off Lake Ontario and impacted parts of the western Adirondacks beginning during the late morning on Sunday, December 10th. The band produced snowfall rates in excess of one inch per hour at times, especially during the evening hours on Sunday, December 10th and was fairly continuous over northern parts of Herkimer County and northwestern parts of Hamilton County. The snow band weakened somewhat, but continued into the early morning hours on Monday, December 11th. By the time snowfall ended around sunrise on December 11th, up to a foot of snow fell near the Old Forge and Inlet areas.

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 Albany, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 10, 9:36 AM EST, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 10, 9:36 AM EST, 1 hour 24 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 10, 3:32 AM EST, 7 hours 28 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 10, 9:05 AM EST, 1 hour 55 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 10, 10:06 AM EST, 54 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 10, 10:09 AM EST, 51 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 10, 10:12 AM EST, 48 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 10, 10:21 AM EST, 39 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 10, 10:23 AM EST, 37 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

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

Lake-Effect Snow, Northern Herkimer

When: December 10, 11:00 AM EST to December 11, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Herkimer forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.420, -74.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Hamilton

When: December 10, 11:00 AM EST to December 11, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.661, -74.497 (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 2017 Every state in 2017 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, December 2017

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: 731865, 731866.