Lake-Effect Snow in New York, February 15 to 16, 2017

Name: Lake-Effect Snow in New York, February 15 to 16, 2017
Start: 2017-02-15T14:00
End: 2017-02-16T13:30
Location: New York

February 15 to 16, 2017 · NWS BUF · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: $75,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

While this event included some noteworthy lake snow accumulations the impacts were minimized by the extended time frame of the event and the location of the heaviest snows away from highly populated areas. The event unfolded on Wednesday the 15th as a strong cold front passed through the region. The front itself helped to generate a couple inches of synoptic snow for many areas, then as the cold air deepened in the wake of the front during the afternoon, lake effect snows developed. The snow was exclusively lake effect in nature by Wednesday evening for sites east of Lake Erie. A closer look at the lake effect downwind of Lake Erie reveals that the accumulating lake snows were not only enhanced by the orographic lift provided by the Chautauqua Ridge but were fed by streamers off Lake Huron. The peak of the lake snows occurred early Thursday morning, then during the course of the day, a subtle backing of the steering flow broke down the contributions of the upstream lake connections. Specific snowfall reports included: 17 inches at Perrysburg; 14 inches at Colden; 12 inches at New Albion; 11 inches at Warsaw and Little Valley; 10 inches at Varysburg and Sardinia, Colden, Springville and Forestville; and 9 inches at Glenwood, Randolph and Cassadaga.

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 Feb 14, 6:45 PM EST, 19 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 14, 6:45 PM EST, 19 hours 15 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

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

Lake-Effect Snow, Chautauqua

When: February 15, 2:00 PM EST to February 16, 1:30 PM EST
Where: Chautauqua forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 42.303, -79.406 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Cattaraugus

When: February 15, 2:00 PM EST to February 16, 1:30 PM EST
Where: Cattaraugus forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 42.249, -78.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Wyoming

When: February 15, 2:00 PM EST to February 16, 1:30 PM EST
Where: Wyoming forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 42.702, -78.224 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Southern Erie

When: February 15, 2:00 PM EST to February 16, 1:30 PM EST
Where: Southern Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.758, -78.780 (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, February 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: 682482, 682483, 682485, 682486.