New York, 2020

Lake-Effect Snow in New York, November 2 to 3, 2020

November 2 to 3, 2020 · NWS ALY · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

In the wake of light snow showers from Sunday, November 1 to early on Monday, November 2, a band of heavy lake-effect snow set up across the southern Adirondacks ahead of an east-west oriented surface cold front dropping southward from Canada during the late-evening hours on November 2 into the early morning hours of November 3. Snowfall totals of 6 to 10 inches were common across northern…

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.

  • Tornadoes
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  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
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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.

In the wake of light snow showers from Sunday, November 1 to early on Monday, November 2, a band of heavy lake-effect snow set up across the southern Adirondacks ahead of an east-west oriented surface cold front dropping southward from Canada during the late-evening hours on November 2 into the early morning hours of November 3. Snowfall totals of 6 to 10 inches were common across northern Herkimer and Hamilton counties, including Old Forge, Inlet and Lake Pleasant. As the front dropped southward on November 3, the band of snow drifted southward and weakened.

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 Nov 1, 4:16 PM EST, 23 hours 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 1, 4:16 PM EST, 23 hours 44 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 1, 4:25 PM EST, 23 hours 35 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
November 2, 4:00 PM EST to November 3, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Herkimer forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
43.420, -74.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Hamilton

When
November 2, 4:00 PM EST to November 3, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Hamilton forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
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

More

Every storm in New York in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, November 2020

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: 927400, 927401.