Winter Weather — Eastern Columbia, New York

2025-12-02 · Eastern Columbia, New York

Event narrative

Zone average snowfall of 5.2 inches.

Wider weather episode

A complex, relatively progressive winter storm impacted eastern New York in the preliminary days of December, bringing widespread moderate to heavy snow particularly to portions of the immediate Capital District, Eastern Catskills, Upper-Hudson Valley, Taconics, and Mohawk Valley. This was the most significant snowstorm this region had seen in several years with warning-level snow observed at Albany International Airport for the first time since 2023.

An initial area of snow ahead of the main stratiform precipitation shield tracked through the region in the early morning hours of December 2, leading to a quick accumulation of a trace up to an inch in some isolated areas. The main precipitation shield then moved in around or just after 7 AM, bringing moderate to heavy snowfall rates in areas where enhanced forcing created localized, embedded mesoscale snow bands. Snow concluded late December 2/early December 3 with total accumulations ranging from about 2 to 12 inches. The heaviest snowfall accumulations fell in the aforementioned areas of the immediate Capital District, Eastern Catskills, Upper-Hudson Valley, Taconics, and Mohawk Valley where those mesoscale bands were most prevalent and terrain influences enhanced snowfall rates.

Being that this was not only the most significant storm in several years but also an early-season, significant snowfall acting like the first snowfall of the season, numerous traffic accidents were reported across the region. Numerous schools also closed or were on delay for December 2.

Key Impacts: Traffic accidents, travel delays, school closures, school delays.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1305203. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.