The Winter of 2005-06 was a fairly benign one
across western and central New York. Snowfall was well below normal across much
of the region as there was a near complete absence of synoptic (general)
snowfalls. The Lake effect machine was quite active though, primarily during two
periods, late November to mid December, and through mid and late February. There
were actually 13 lake effect "events" for the winter (normal is nine),
but most were fairly modest. They repeatedly focused on the typical snowbelt
areas off both Lakes (even Erie in Feb which usually freezes but saw little ice
this winter). These were the only real wintry periods of the winter however, as
the six week period from Christmas on into early February was one of the mildest
and most open we have ever seen, with ground bare at lower elevations most of
the time. January was the mildest in at least 56 years. March turned out quite
mild as well, and the region saw an unusually early end to its snow season, with
the last general fall being on March 2, and April virtually snowless.
Season snowfall totals usually vary significantly
across our region, but they featured some remarkable disparity this winter.
Totals neared 200 inches in the Erie snowbelts along the Chautauqua ridge and
ski country, but dropped sharply to just 50-60 inches along the lakeshore of
Chautauqua county. They also dropped from a near average 110 inches in the
Jamestown area to less than 60 inches from Olean to Wellsville.
The Buffalo area had a generally easy winter,
aside from an intense early lake snow across the South Towns in mid November.
The city and north suburbs only received 50 to 60 inches, with amounts gradually
increasing to near 100 inches across the South Towns. There was only one fall
over 5 inches at the airport, and the North Towns never even saw a 4-inch-plus
fall all winter. Snowblowers gathered rust and the ground was bare much of the
time.
To the north, even less snow fell. Much of
Niagara and Orleans counties caught less than 40 inches, with some spots near
Lake Ontario never even seeing a 3 inch fall! The Rochester area saw little,
with most of Monroe county catching 40 to 60 inches, with largest fall in the 3
to 5 inch range! The official airport numbers were a bit higher but still well
below normal. Little fell over the mid Genesee Valley and Finger Lakes but
typically higher totals were reported from the Bristol Hills.
We did have some decent numbers off our other
Lake, with Oswego county and the Tug Hill catching near normal amounts of 100 to
200 inches. There was a strip of heavier snow over the northern Tug, with Barnes
Corners and Hooker maxing out with over 250 inches, with typically snowier
Highmarket and N. Osceola catching a bit less. Amounts dropped off over
Jefferson county, but Watertown did catch some heavy snows in late November and
early December lake effect.
Here are your monthly details,
NOVEMBER 2005
What a wild and crazy month! The 2005-06 Season
started out with a bang, as we were treated to just about everything Mother
Nature had to offer in November. The month’s first half featured several
windstorms and out of season thunderstorms, but also continued the six month
trend of much warmer than normal temperatures. The pattern changed big time upon
the passage of a very sharp cold front during the 16th, near record temperatures
close to 70 at dawn were replaced by our first real lake effect storm by that
evening. The last two weeks were generally cold but very changeable. We had our
coldest Thanksgiving Day in 100 years with afternoon temps in teens, but 48
hours later we had record highs once again. As for snowfall, there were two
major events, the one on 16-17th which smothered Buffalo's South Towns with
12-18 inches of heavy wet snow, while leaving the city dry. Sizeable amounts
were also observed over the Tug Hill east of Lake Ontario. Some minor lake snows
fell along the south shore of Lake Ontario in the 21-23rd period. The
Thanksgiving cold wave resulted in another major event, this time on a more
southwest flow off Lake Ontario which gave Watertown 12-18 inches. The Lake Erie
activity focused on ski country but then lifted north across metro Buffalo late
on 25th with 6-10 inches. But, record warmth and rain melted all the snow by
month's end Monthly totals were near normal outside of lake effect
areas with just a few inches from the Genesee Valley and Finger Lakes region as
well as Niagara County, but totals were above normal in areas which experienced
Lake Effect. It was Buffalo's second snowiest November in 15 years.
DECEMBER 2005
December roared into western New York with frigid
temperatures and frequent lake snows. Its first two weeks averaged ten degrees
colder than normal, and when you combine this with our warm early season lakes,
you really crank up the lake effect machine. We had no less than six lake effect
"events" during the first 19 days, with most of them focusing on the
same areas, eastern and northern Oswego county and the Tug Hill east of Lake
Ontario, and the snowbelt ridges back from Lake Erie from Chautauqua to far
southern Erie county. Events on 2-3rd, 6-7th, and 19-20th dropped upwards of two
feet in these areas, while little fell elsewhere. There was little
synoptic weather in our region this month. We did get some nickel and dime minor
snows, and some mixed precipitation on 15-16th. There was a nasty windstorm
following a frontal passage on 9th with blowing snow which disrupted rush hour
traffic in the Buffalo area. The pattern changed drastically after the 20th
however, as we came under a Pacific zonal flow. Temperatures rose well above
normal for the final third of the month, and the snow cover gradually eroded
away. Many areas did not have a white Christmas for first time since 1997. The
month ended with bare ground over most of western New York and only a thin cover
east of Lake Ontario. Monthly totals were highly variable, generally less
than 20 inches outside lake areas, even under 10 inches in the mid Genesee
Valley, but as much as 60-80 inches along the Chautauqua ridge southeast of Lake
Erie. The "winner" was again the Tug Hill region with both Redfield
and N. Osceola catching 117 inches! Amazingly though, Perrysburg (which received
83 inches snowfall) had only a trace left by month's end, and even the Tug had
just over a foot.
JANUARY 2006
What a month! January was the warmest in at least
56 years across the entire region, as we shared in the record warm January
across the nation. The pacific flow which became established in late December
held all month with the jet stream locked well north in Canada with arctic air
remaining on the other side of the globe (Asia, Eastern Europe). As a result,
our network experienced its most snow free January in the ten years of record
and would have been even more remarkable if we didn't catch a nasty upslope wet
snowstorm over higher elevations on the 24-26th. Otherwise, snow was pretty much
restricted to minor falls at the end of rainstorms on 14th and 18th, and another
upslope on 6-7th during a brief cool-down. Monthly totals ranged upwards of
24-30" along the ridges southeast of Lake Erie, but even this is well below
the usual for January. The Tug Hill caught similar amounts. Elsewhere, totals
were generally in the single digits, with Buffalo catching their 8th least in
100 years. The ground was bare most of the month. In fact, Buffalo's greatest
snowdepth this month was one inch and has not had a two inch snowfall since Dec.
21! The month ended with bare ground everywhere except for the higher reaches of
the Tug, with Lake Erie totally open.
FEBRUARY 2006
After a mild first few days, winter returned to
our region during February. The month featured very frequent but generally light
daily snowfalls, but did include several significant lake effect events. The
main weather players were two major storms which both moved up to our west and
north, the first one on the 5th, the other on the 17th. Both of these storms
were preceded and accompanied by very mild air and rain, then very strong winds.
But, they were followed by surges of cold air and associated lake snows. An
unusual feature of the February lake snows was the inclusion of Lake Erie in the
equation. This lake is usually largely frozen in February but was wide open this
year because of the previously mild winter, so locations east of Lake Erie also
shared in the heavier snowfall. The major events were lake storms on 5-8th,
13-14th, and 17-21st, each of which dropped upwards of one to two feet in the
typical snowbelts east of the lakes. Another unusual feature was the frequency
of snows to focus on the northern Tug Hill rather than central and south, with
Barnes Corners and Hooker catching double the snow of N. Osceola and Highmarket.
The month's last week featured a continuation of light daily lake snows, with
a rare 5" fall from Georgian Bay down into Buffalo’s eastern suburbs on
25th. In fact, measurable snow fell on 18 days this month at Buffalo and
Rochester, but continued the trend of no major falls at each city. In fact,
through February, Buffalo only has had one fall of 6" or more (back on Nov.
25) and Rochester none, but both cities were just 10-20% below normal for the
entire season due to the high frequency of snowfall. Snow cover has been very
thin and sporadic though. February was the snowiest month of this mild
winter season, with most spots at or somewhat above normal. Totals peaked at
over 100” on the northern Tug, and were over 3 feet from Watertown to Oswego
county. Across the west, 3 to 5 feet fell over snowbelt areas from the
Chautauqua ridge to Wyoming county, with totals tapering off to north and south,
down to less than a foot near Lake Ontario in Niagara County.
MARCH 2006
After a decent shot of synoptic snow over portions of the area on the second day
of the month, March saw a return to the generally open winter of '05-06 with
unusually paltry snowfall, especially in comparison to recent snowy Marches.
Snowfall was below normal across all areas, substantially so from the Genesee
Valley eastward. The only real snowfall of the month was on the 2nd, as a
"Clipper" slid southeastwards from the Upper Lakes, clipping western
and southern New York. There was a very sharp gradient from about the Buffalo
area to Binghamton and all the way to Rhode Island. Areas southwest of this line
caught 6 to 10 inches, while little or nothing fell from Niagara county to
Rochester and Syracuse. Of note was the heavier snow in the Bristol Hills, up to
a foot. This was only real synoptic event to affect western New York all winter!
Aside from this event, monthly snowfall was restricted to a few inches of
upslope snows on 13-14th across ski country and southern Tug Hill, and a
marginal lake effect event on the southern Tug on 19-20th. Monthly totals
ranged upwards of a foot over higher elevations south of Buffalo but ranged
downwards to just an inch or two from Niagara to Rochester. Even Oswego county
and the Tug received unusually meager totals, well under a foot. And, areas from
Watertown northward caught no snow all month!
www.nws.noaa.gov 
