Lake-Effect Snow in Southern Herkimer, New York

The greatest snowfall total in southern Herkimer County reported by a local trained spotter was 18 inches near the town of Frankfort. Another warning-level total was 11.5 inches observed by another trained spotter in the Village of Ilion.

A significant and elongated lake effect snow band developed off Lake Ontario in the late afternoon to early evening of February 13th in the wake of a low pressure system and its attendant cold front. The primary band extended south and eastward, cutting through southern Herkimer, Montgomery, Schoharie, Albany, Greene, and Rensselaer Counties. Additional bandelettes also developed off of Lake Ontario through the afternoon of February 14th, leading to additional accumulations. Snowfall accumulations were highly variable across the impacted area with the highest amount of 18 inches reported in far southern Herkimer County to the lowest report of a mere 0.1 inches in Montgomery County. Additionally, upslope enhancement in the higher terrain regions of the Helderbergs and Eastern Catskills led to some locally higher totals of 6 to 8 inches in western Albany and Schoharie Counties.

Key Impacts: travel delays, slippery travel conditions.