Lake-Effect Snow — Northern Cayuga, New York

2018-02-02 · Northern Cayuga, New York

Wider weather episode

After a strong cold front crossed the lower Great Lakes early on the morning of February 2nd, a cold, northwest flow across Lake Ontario with an upstream lake connection generated bands of lake effect snow along the south shore of Lake Ontario from Niagara to Oswego counties. The most robust lake effect snow band hugged the Lake Ontario shoreline, coming inland near Sodus and extended east-southeastward through Wolcott to north of Syracuse. Very intense snowfall was observed within a narrow corridor under this band, with a New York State Mesonet near Wolcott picking up over 9 inches of snow in just 3 hours, while a trained spotter in Wolcott reported a total of 14 inches occurring in just under 5 hours. This maximum in snowfall extended southeastward in Cayuga County, with 6 to 12 inches reported near Cato and Ira in northern Cayuga county. Outside of this localized area of heavy snow, amounts quickly dropped off to just 2 to 5 inches across much of Wayne and Cayuga counties. A shortwave passage mid-morning on February 2nd disrupted the initial band of heavy lake effect snow southeast of Lake Ontario, breaking it apart into weak multi-banded snow showers through the rest of the day. The low-level flow again became well aligned with the long lake axis of Lake Ontario late Friday night through Saturday. A lake effect band moved from near Cayuga County Friday evening, quickly across central Oswego County before centering across the central and southern portions of the Tug Hill early Saturday morning. By Saturday afternoon, the flow continued to back around to the southwest pushing the heavy snow northward across central and even northern portions of Jefferson county, including the Watertown area. This second blast of heavy lake effect snow with this event not only resulted in another maximum in snowfall across the typical snow belt of the central Tug Hill, where just over a foot and a half fell, but also spread respectable snowfall accumulations northward into the Watertown area where up to 10 inches fell through Saturday afternoon. Specific snowfall totals included: 19 inches at Redfield; 15 inches at Hooker; 14 inches at Wolcott; 12 inches at Lacona; 11.5 inches at Ira; 10 inches at Watertown; 8 inches Natural Bridge and Harrisburg; and 7 inches at Cato.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 742323. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.