Lake-Effect Snow in New York, January 26 to 29, 2017

Name: Lake-Effect Snow in New York, January 26 to 29, 2017
Start: 2017-01-26T14:00
End: 2017-01-29T21:00
Location: New York

January 26 to 29, 2017 · NWS BUF · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: $125,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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.

This was a long duration event that focused the greatest accumulations across the typical snow belts of the western Southern Tier and Tug Hill. The most impressive accumulations fell across the higher terrain of the Tug Hill, where a robust plume concentrated off of Lake Ontario. Totals were less impressive off Lake Erie, as parameters and fetch were less than ideal, making for more disorganized cellular convection for much of the event. Though persistent, the lake effect snows bands were mobile throughout the event. Off Lake Erie, lake effect snow developed Thursday evening and became more widespread overnight. Westerly to west northwesterly flow directed the lake effect across the western Southern Tier and Chautauqua ridge. Friday evening the lake effect consolidated into a more defined band across northern Chautauqua and Cattaraugus and southern Erie counties. Off Lake Ontario, weak lake effect snow developed late Thursday Night across southern and central Oswego County on west-northwesterly flow. The band slowly intensified by Saturday morning across north-central Oswego County and the southern Tug Hill. A true lake effect plume redeveloped Saturday night and locked in across the central Tug Hill Sunday. Snowfall rates increased over 2 inches per hour at times over the Tug Hill, with reports of over 2 feet of snow in roughly 12 hours. The band finally started to weaken by Sunday evening.|Specific snowfall reports off Lake Erie included: 19 inches at Springville, 18 inches at East Concord, 17 inches at Perrsyburg, 16 inches at Little Valley, New Albion and Cattaraugus, 13 inches at Forestville and Glenwood, 12 inches at Humphrey and Kennedy, 11 inches at Warsaw, 10 inches at Houghton, Boston and Ischua, Specific snowfall reports off Lake Ontario included: 40 inches at Worth and Lacona, 38 inches at Redfield, 28 inches at Osceola, 25 inches at Constableville, 24 inches at Port Leyden, 23 inches at Highmarket, 17 inches at Pulaski, 16 inches at Mannsville and 14 inches at Lowville and Glenfield.

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, 1:39 PM EST, 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 26, 1:39 PM EST, 21 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 26, 4:52 AM EST, 9 hours 8 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

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

Lake-Effect Snow, Wyoming

When: January 26, 2:00 PM EST to January 29, 9:00 AM 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, Chautauqua

When: January 26, 2:00 PM EST to January 29, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Chautauqua forecast zone
Property damage: $18,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 42.303, -79.406 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Cattaraugus

When: January 26, 2:00 PM EST to January 29, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Cattaraugus forecast zone
Property damage: $16,000
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 42.249, -78.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Southern Erie

When: January 26, 2:00 PM EST to January 29, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $16,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.758, -78.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Oswego

When: January 26, 2:00 PM EST to January 29, 9:00 PM EST
Where: Oswego forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Post Office
Coordinates: 43.464, -76.209 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Lewis

When: January 26, 2:00 PM EST to January 29, 9:00 PM EST
Where: Lewis forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 43.785, -75.449 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Allegany

When: January 27, 4:00 AM EST to January 29, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Allegany forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 42.257, -78.028 (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, January 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 676953, 676954, 676956, 676958, 676959, 676960, 676963.