New York, 2025

Lake-Effect Snow in New York, February 9 to 11, 2025

February 9 to 11, 2025 · NWS BUF · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A lake effect band of snow developed behind a departing area of low pressure late on February 9th. A west to west-northwest flow favored areas across Oswego and Northern Cayuga counties for the heaviest snow amounts.

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 BUF wrote it up.

A lake effect band of snow developed behind a departing area of low pressure late on February 9th. A west to west-northwest flow favored areas across Oswego and Northern Cayuga counties for the heaviest snow amounts. Temperatures aloft at 850 hPa cooled to -15 degrees Celsius as a trough was in place over the region. This combined with synoptic moisture and the long fetch over Lake Ontario resulted in heavy lake effect snow for areas east to southeast of the lake.

Snowfall amounts for this event include: 27.9 inches in Palermo, 22.1 inches in Minetto and 12.0 inches in Sterling.

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 9, 3:28 PM EST, 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 9, 3:28 PM EST, 32 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 9, 6:37 AM EST, 9 hours 23 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 9, 10:30 AM EST, 5 hours 30 minutes before
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Local storm report, Feb 9, 2:47 PM EST, 1 hour 13 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 Cayuga

When
February 9, 4:00 PM EST to February 10, 3:45 PM EST
Where
Northern Cayuga forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
43.010, -76.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Oswego

When
February 9, 4:00 PM EST to February 11, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Oswego forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
43.464, -76.209 (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 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, February 2025

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: 1237332, 1237334.