Winter Has Many Wondering Where’s The Snow In New York State

If you happen to take a look outside, it is finally beginning to look like winter in Buffalo and Western New York. This, of course, is thanks to a recent lake-effect snowstorm that blew into the 716 over the last day or so which dropped a few inches of the white stuff on the area.

Except for that snowstorm, it has been a restively warm and snow-free winter that seemed, at times, more like a cool spring.

To say that we're having an unusual winter would be a major understatement.

According to the National Weather Service, Buffalo should have seen around 6 feet of snowfall in the region by this time of year. As of February 18, 2024, Buffalo has had just under 59 inches of snowfall. This number is more than a foot lower than normal and less than half the amount of snow that fell this time last year.

However, it's not just Buffalo wondering where the snow is.

Every city in New York State is well behind its average snowfall total.

• Buffalo, NY - 58.5 Inches As Of February 18th
• Rochester, NY - 40.7 Inches As Of February 18th
• Binghamton, NY - 38.1 Inches As Of February 18th
• Syracuse, NY - 34 Inches As Of February 18th
• Albany, NY - 22.4 Inches As Of February 18th
• New York City - 10.5 Inches As Of February 18th

While some places like New York City have seen the heaviest snowfall they've had in a while, it's still quite a bit behind what would fall in a normal winter season.

This kind of change in our normal weather patterns makes you wonder if we're seeing some effects from climate change.

According to NOAA's 2023-24 Winter Outlook, it was predicted that we would have higher than normal temps with lower than average precipitation due to El Niño coming into place for the first time in a few years.

While snowfall is very well below average, one good thing about all of this is Buffalo is still in the running to win the 2023-24 Golden Snowball award.

Let's go, Buffalo!