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Mild temperatures have been the story for the later part of the week, but they are not going to stay this way for long. More details on that to come, but first is the look back at the last forecast.

The previous outlook involved snowfall for Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. Here are their snow totals from the 25th through the 27th of February.

Buffalo: 11.1
Rochester: 10.0
Syracuse: 9.3

Bull’s Eye: All three get at least 8 inches, with at least one getting a foot, of snow this weekend.
On Target: All three get at least 8 inches of snow.
Complete Miss: At least one of the three gets under 8 inches of snow.

Neither could quite get to the foot mark over the three days, so it is an On Target forecast.

With this and the GSG forecast being On Target, my average remains below 1.00 for the season, now at 0.93. Just 3 forecasts remain, enough to either finish out strong or end with a whimper.

Now on to this forecast, which as hinted at before, focuses on temperatures. In particular, it compares Friday highs with Sunday’s low for all GSB cities. I am expecting double digit differences for at least a majority of the region.

Bull’s Eye: Friday’s high will be at least 10 degrees warmer than Sunday’s for all five GSB cities.
On Target: Friday’s high will be at least 10 degrees warmer than Sunday’s for 3 of the five GSB cities.
Complete Miss: Friday’s high will be at least 10 degrees warmer than Sunday’s less than 3 of the five GSB cities.

Be sure to check out the forecast on Golden Snow Globe as well!

With the latest storm, Albany has moved into the top ten of their snowfall seasons (since 1951-52). Now at 83.6, this season has overtaken the 1966-67 season, which had 80.9 inches.

Below are Albany’s top ten snowiest seasons, since 1951-52.
1. 1970-1971 (112.5)
2. 2002-2003 (105.4)
3. 1981-1982 (97.1)
4. 1992-1993 (94.2)
5. 1977-1978 (92.4)
6. 1971-1972 (89.3)
7. 1993-1994 (88.1)
8. 1969-1970 (87.7)
9. 1995-1996 (86.5)
10. 2010-2011 (83.6 so far)

While I believe the top spot is out of range, I could see this season end up in the top 5 when all is said and done. Wouldn’t it be something if all five GSB cities got over 100 though? Let’s make it happen Albany!

As for Binghamton, Buffalo, and Rochester, they are each outside of their respective top 10s, but are in striking distance. This is Binghamton’s 14th snowiest season, 2.1 inches away from 10th. This is Buffalo’s 23rd, 13.7 below 10th. For Rochester, this season is 17th, 12.7 behind 10th. Again, these rankings are all since the 1951-52 season, so the rankings are a bit standardized.

I’d like to say that the season is wrapping up, but seeing forecasts of a foot of snow on tv and online make me want to hold off on that. More on that later, but first, it’s a look back at the February forecast.

That forecast involved snowfall totals for Rochester and Syracuse. Below are their seasonal totals that were recorded at the end of February.

Rochester: 112.0
Syracuse: 160.3

Bull’s Eye: Rochester reaches 100, and Syracuse hits 150, by the end of the month.
On Target: Rochester reaches 100 by the end of the month.
Complete Miss: Rochester stays under 100 at the end of the month.

It’s a Bull’s Eye with both cities reaching the respective marks.

It turned out to be a great month for me. This Bull’s Eye, combined with an On Target at GSG, brings my average up to 1.25. My intention at the beginning of the season was to make March the final SITD forecast. However, I have two forecasts that I’d like to do. So, the new plan is to have this one go for the month, and in a few weeks I will post the final one. This would give me 5 forecast periods, including the one done to start the season.

On that note, it’s time for the March forecast. All the GSB cities are above their averages for the entire season, with more snow on the way. In an above average season, I just can’t bring myself to forecast a below average March.

Bull’s Eye: All five GSB cities will have above average snowfall for March.
On Target: Three GSB cities will have above average snowfall in March.
Complete Miss: Two or less GSB cities will have above average snowfall in March.

Here are the averages for March for each city.
Albany: 10.9
Binghamton: 14.2
Buffalo: 12.4
Rochester: 16.6
Syracuse: 18.8

Remember to check out the Golden Snowball site for the SITD Forecast over there!

The latest snowstorm has pushed this season to the 10th snowiest season on record for Syracuse (157 inches), overtaking the 2002-03 season (153.2) for that spot. The current 9th place season is 1970-71, with 157.2 inches. I would imagine this season will move past that one today. Below are the top 10 snowiest seasons for Syracuse.

1. 1992-93 (192.1)
2. 2000-01 (191.9)
3. 2003-04 (181.3)
4. 1995-96 (170.9)
5. 1991-92 (166.9)
6. 1993-94 (163.8)
7. 1989-90 (162.0)
8. 1977-78 (161.2)
9. 1970-71 (157.2)
10. 2010-11 (157.0 so far)

In case you were wondering, Syracuse’s least snowiest season on record was 2001-02, with 59.4 inches.

As for the other GSB cities, below are the rankings for this season, since 1951-52 (the earliest season that data was available for all 5 cities).

Albany: 19th
Binghamton: 20th
Buffalo: 31st
Rochester: 21st

All of them, especially Buffalo, have a ways to go to reach their respective top 10. But, there still is plenty of time in the season, so maybe a few more of them can get toward the top of their snow piles!

I could see some unknown green stuff where the white lawn used to be. That must mean it’s time for another snow storm! I’m sure most in upstate NY region already know about the upcoming storm, for which I will be forecasting for Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. Before I get into that, it’s a look back at the last forecast.

That last forecast featured snowfall amounts for the GSB cities. Here is their totals for the 20th and 21st.

Albany: 3.1
Binghamton: 4.7
Buffalo: 2.5
Rochester: 3.1
Syracuse: 1.8

Bull’s Eye: Syracuse’s snowfall total is higher than the combined total of the other 4 GSB cities.
On Target: Syracuse’s snowfall total is higher than any other GSB city.
Complete Miss: At least one GSB city has more snow than Syracuse.

Um…yeah. I’m just going to let that one speak for itself.

That Complete Miss along with the On Target forecast over on GSG made it a bit of a tough weekend. Once again, I have fallen below the 1.00 goal, now sitting at 0.92. There are now 4 weeks of forecasts left to reach that threshold.

To get there, I need a strong finish here, so let’s start it up this weekend! As mentioned at the beginning, this focuses on the trio of Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. The big story is the Friday storm, and for good reason. Including that into the weekend, I see the three getting at least 8 inches, with at least one possibly getting a foot.

Bull’s Eye: All three get at least 8 inches, with at least one getting a foot, of snow this weekend.
On Target: All three get at least 8 inches of snow.
Complete Miss: At least one of the three gets under 8 inches of snow.

Have a great weekend, and remember to check out the forecast on Golden Snow Globe as well!

I wanted to get this done yesterday, but do to some difficulties, which are explained in more detail over on Golden Snow Globe, I was unable to get it done. That is the problem with waiting for verification sometimes, but that is the nature of it when trying to show how right (or wrong) a prediction was.

Last forecast involved temperatures, a comparison between highs and lows. Below are nighttime lows on Thursday (6pm to 6am) with Wednesday’s highs in parenthesis.

Albany: 37 (39)
Binghamton: 46 (41)
Buffalo: 49 (44)
Rochester: 48 (44)
Syracuse: 40 (41)

Bull’s Eye: All GSB cities have higher Thursday night low temperatures than Wednesday highs.
On Target: 3 or 4 GSB cities have higher Thursday night low temperatures than Wednesday highs.
Complete Miss: 2 or fewer GSB cities have higher Thursday night low temperatures than Wednesday highs.

With 3 out of the 5 having warmer Thursday night lows than Wednesday highs, the forecast is On Target.

A pretty solid week for me, including the Bull’s Eye on GSG, pushes my total to 10 points from 10 forecasts, a 1.00 average. That is exactly the goal set at the beginning of the season. We’ve reached the halfway point for the forecasts, and I’d like to have it all wrapped up at the end of March.

Now on to this forecast. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to get it done yesterday as it was a comparison with Syracuse snowfall and the other GSB cities. I still believe the same idea will work out for Sunday and Monday.

Bull’s Eye: Syracuse’s snowfall total is higher than the combined total of the other 4 GSB cities.
On Target: Syracuse’s snowfall total is higher than any other GSB city.
Complete Miss: At least one GSB city has more snow than Syracuse.

Have a great weekend everyone, and remember to check out the forecast over on Golden Snow Globe.