Golden Snowball

Let The 2016-2017 Golden Snowball Games Begin

Posted by The Snowman on October 27, 2016
Posted in: Golden Snowball. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

Updated 10/28 1PM – The National Weather Service in Albany posted the snow stats for Albany and it’s now official, Albany leads the Golden Snowball contest. Really, I’m serious 🙂 It’s not too often I get to say Albany is leading but Albany received 1.7 inches of snow yesterday breaking the old date record set of 1.6 inches set back in 2011. WTG Albany!

Syracuse also set a date record picking up only 0.2 inches of snow but it was enough to break the old record of 0.1 set way back in 1962.

So, unless Buffalo has some snow to report come the next update, 4 out of 5 cities have snowfall so far which is a pretty good start for the 2016-2017 Golden Snowball contest. Stay tuned, it’s only the beginning 🙂

Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, Albany Start the 2016-2017 Snow Season Contest Golden Snowball

The New York Golden Snowball for the 2016-2017 snow season has officially begun. As of the 5PM update from the National Weather Service Rochester, New York is reporting 0.9 inches of snow for today. WTG Rochester and I am still waiting for the NWS snow update for Syracuse and Binghamton. I have a feeling that both of those cities may have also received some measurable snowfall today. I could be wrong and remember, I normally am 😉

Updated 6PM – The new stats are out from the National Weather Service for Syracuse and Binghamton. Syracuse is showing only 0.2 inches for today and Binghamton is showing 1.0 inches as of this last update. I just read a tweet from the Albany National Weather Service reporting that Albany received 1.7 inches today. If this is the case it looks like Albany is in the lead. More to come on that if I hear back from the Albany NWS office.
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More Snow Stats for Syracuse and Binghamton Soon

Buffalo is only showing a trace of snow so far for the 2016-2017 snow season as of this update. Albany, NY isn’t reporting this update so we will have to wait on their stats come the next update. Check back in a few minutes and I should have the snow stats for both Syracuse and Binghamton if there are any to report. AND SO IT BEGINS 🙂

Let’s have a fun snow season like we do every season and more importantly, it’s going to be a long season so stay safe everyone!

10 Years Since Buffalo, New York’s Freak October Snow Storm

Posted by The Snowman on October 12, 2016
Posted in: Golden Snowball, new york snow contest. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Buffalo October Surprise – Freak Snow Storm 2006

I wanted to share a cool video of the October Surprise snowstorm that hit Buffalo 10 years ago. Steven Madsen, aka the General from Buffalo, put this together several years back and we posted it back then too. I’ve been trying to find some posts that we made on the Golden Snowball site 10 years ago but that was right about the time that we switched over to a new design. All I could find was a post from the 13th and 14th back in 2006 which is also below.

National Snow Contest Started

I also wanted to let everyone know that the National snow contest over at Golden Snow Globe started up yesterday. Billings, Montana is the first Big city with measurable snow so far for the 2016-2017 snow season. You can check out the snowiest Big city in the United States here!

Video and Pictures (pics coming soon) From Steven Madsen

Golden Snowball Posts About Buffalo Storm 10 Years Ago

A blast from the past. Below is all I could find, unfortunately, that I posted on the snow site about the Buffalo October snow storm 🙁

10/13/06 – Let the golden snowball contest begin. Buffalo struck first breaking a record for measurable snow this early in the season with 8.6 inches on Thursday and breaking the all-time record of 6 inches dating back to Oct 31st, 1917. Way to early to be getting pounded with snow. Something isn’t right when I can use the word pounded this early in the season. Unfortunately with the lakes temp being around 60 degrees the cold front that is bringing on the Lake Effect Snow (LES) is producing heavy wet snow that has brought down a lot of trees. Over 155,000 are without power and some reporting up to 300,000 without power, schools are closed and so on.

All I can say is after the dismal snow season Buffalo had last year, they are off to a good start this year. Hopefully everyone is OK and hopefully, they get the power back and things back to normal soon. Remember “See Snow – Drive Slow”. Have a Safe Snow Season All and Let The Contest Begin! I’m off to see if my foursome still plans on golfing today.

10/14 – Talk about getting a jump on the contest this year. Buffalo is leading by almost 2 feet of snow. After Fridays record snow totals of 14 inches, they are well on their way to dethroning the champions, Syracuse. Buffalo’s total snowfall so far this season stands at 22.6 inches. Hello, it’s October, not January. Now we have to wonder if any more measurable snow will fall anytime soon. Nothing as freaky as what hit Buffalo this week I’d bet on.

Let’s not forget Rochester. They also struck early setting their record that dated back to 1874. Their total stands at 0.4 inches. Lake effect snow has never ceased to amaze me. How one city can get close to 2 feet of snow and another city just down the road gets less than an inch. I suppose that’s what makes the Golden Snowball contest so unpredictable.

Looking at this year and last years start of the season I don’t know which is freakier. Buffalo getting the first snowfall of 22.6 inches in October to start the contest. Or last year when it was Albany who started the contest and was winning for a brief period. Stay tuned for the next snow update which should be in about a month. Lets hope anyways. Have a great weekend all!

Some Good Articles About the Snow Storm at Buffalo News
* 50,000 Trees Lost From October Snow Storm
* Remembering the 2006 Buffalo Snow Storm
* TJ Pignatara – Can it Happen Again

It’s a Wrap, Syracuse Wins 2015-2016 Golden Snowball Award

Posted by The Snowman on May 1, 2016
Posted in: Golden Snowball, new york snow contest. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Defending snow champs Syracuse, NY has once again won the New York State Golden Snowball contest for the 2015-2016 snow season. Congrats to Syracuse. That’s all I have to say, really. Pretty much like the snow season was for most of New York, boring, that’s my post. I’M JOKING 😉

I’m looking back to when this snow season started up and the first post or snow update I did was on 10/19/2015. I’m guessing that was the first measurable snowfall this season but don’t hold me to it. It could have been the first time I looked. That update I showed Syracuse receiving 0.4 inches of snow and Binghamton receiving 0.3 inches.

The first lead change I’m showing was around 11/15 when Binghamton took the lead ousting Syracuse with just a tenth of an inch of snow at 0.5 inches. The next lead change was around 11/23/2015 when Binghamton, NY took the lead with an inch of snow. Rochester took the lead when the next report came out from the National Weather Service the next day with 1.2 inches.

The next lead change was around 12/20/2015 if my stats are right and it was Binghamton taking the lead with just 2.0 inches of snow on the season. I had to do a double look as I’m typing this to make sure I didn’t leave out a zero somewhere. That just goes to show you how boring this season was 🙁

Rochester took over the lead again on or around 12/28 with 3.2 inches of snow. I’m not making this stuff up folks, talk about a wimpy snow season. No wonder none of the New York cities won the National snow contest at the Golden Snow Globe website 🙁 Syracuse finally took back the lead on or around New Years Day with 4.4 inches only to give it up to Buffalo around 1/12 which had 7.9 inches. So as of January 12th, 2016 Buffalo had a whopping 7.9 inches of snow. Really! Lead changes so far are at 7 I believe 😉

OK, on or around 1/13 things started getting real, lol. Syracuse retook the lead picking up over a foot of snow and their totals jumped all the way up to 22.0 inches. Obviously the best snowfall for any of the cities to date. Buffalo also piled up some decent snow and their snow totals were at 15.3. The next 10 to 15 days pretty much made the season. Between January 13th and January 25th Syracuse was able to pile up around a 15 inch lead over Buffalo. Rochester was also adding to their snow totals but was in 3rd place as of 1/25.

Right around 2/15 – 2/16 Rochester was able to cash in on some really decent snow to slip past Buffalo to grab the number 2 spot on the snow hill. I’m thinking about 18 inches of snow. Buffalo was able to melt away an inch at a time off of Rochester’s 2nd place spot but just couldn’t get enough. I think the race for 2nd place this season was more exciting that the race for the trophy. Syracuse never looked back after taking the lead on or around the 13th of January.

April turned out to be a little surprising and actually being more exciting than November or December was. Go figure that one out. OK, I’m sure it has a lot to do with El’Nino. Speaking of El’Nino there is one thing I did learn this season. My snow dances don’t stand a chance against El’Nino 🙁 Not going to happen 😉

Food for thought – This is the 2nd lowest snow total that a winning city has had since I started keeping snow stats for the Golden Snowball contest which was back in the 2002-2003 snow season. The only other time that the snow totals were lower was in the 2011-2012 snow season. Rochester, New York won that season with 58.9 inches of snow beating out Syracuse’s 50.6 inches of snowfall on the season.

I believe the 2002-203 season was the first season that the Golden Snowball contest was resurrected since the late 1990’s. The snow contest started sometime back in the 1970’s and then had a pause when the National Weather Service in Rochester shut down. Looking back this season has to be one of the lowest snow totals that a winning city has had. You all can figure that out by checking out the snow stats that date back to the 1940-1941 snow season at http://goldensnowball.com/past-snow-seasons-champs/ . Notice that Syracuse wasn’t even listed until the 1951-51 season.

Congrats again Syracuse and have an AWESOME, SAFE Summer everyone 😉

Three Days Left in NY Golden Snowball Snow Contest

Posted by The Snowman on April 28, 2016
Posted in: Golden Snowball. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

First, as always a big Thanks goes out to Xu Lailuyun for your donation to the snow site this season. Thanks for taking the time and they really do help. Thanks, Xu 😉
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OK, only 3 days left for the cities in the Golden Snowball snow contest to catch the defending snow champs, Syracuse. Yeah I know, it’s not going to happen and it’s been pretty much over for the last month or two. What a boring snow contest it has been this season 🙁

The snow contest ends on the last day of April which is coming up. Of course, if any of the cities decided to get more snow after that date I’m pretty sure we would add it to the totals but it would probably take an executive order from one of the Mayors from one of the cities to overturn this. I’m pretty sure that almost all of you out there aren’t hoping for more snow though 🙂

I do want to apologize for the lack of posts this snow season. I was able to keep the snow stats updated throughout the season but had a really hard time finding time to do as many posts as I normally do each season so I am sorry for that. The reason for that was a change in my living conditions and a couple of health problems. Nothing major and I also appreciate the several emails I’ve received this season from some of you asking if everthing was OK. Thanks!

The other reason for the lack of posts was the lack of snow. Wow, what a wimpy winter snow season we have all had this season. It’s hard to blog about snow when there wasn’t any most of the time. I think this will be the second lowest snow totals that a winning city will have since I started up the Golden Snowball website to keep track of the snow stats.

Stay tuned for the “It’s a Wrap” post come May 1st for the New York snow contest. I may have to wait a little longer for the National snow contest over at the Golden Snow Globe website.

Have a Great Day All!

Rochester and Buffalo Storming The Snow Hill

Posted by The Snowman on February 16, 2016
Posted in: Golden Snowball. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

Snow Storm Padding Buffalo and Rochester’s Snow Totals

Stay Safe All! Rochester and Buffalo are both making a charge to the top of the Golden Snowball snow hill. I don’t think either city will have enough to make Syracuse slide off the top right now but man, they sure will have enough snow to pick another snowball fight with Syracuse in the near future. Then again, who knows because I’m normally wrong 😉

Both Rochester and Buffalo have been getting snow and a lot of it as of last night and today and it’s still snowing in both places. From reading posts and tweets online, believe it or not, it is looking pretty good that Rochester may slide past Buffalo when all of the snowflakes are added up.

Some Snow Totals From Storm So Far

As of yesterday’s update, Rochester was trailing Buffalo by 4.5 inches of snow this season. Both cities were trailing Syracuse by 20 + inches of snow but that is going to change as soon as the next update from the NWS comes out this afternoon.

I believe that Syracuse will have some snow to add by the time this storm is over but Syracuse got the warm side of the storm picking up a lot of rain instead of snow. No doubt the snow contest just got a lot more exciting than it has been this season so far with this latest storm.

Here are some unofficial snow stats so far for Rochester and Buffalo according to a tweet on TJ Pignataro’s twitter, who writes for The Buffalo News – NWS update from last hour: Buffalo (+7.9″) is now at 43.1″ for the season. Rochester (+16.3″) is at 47.0″. It is looking good for Rochester to overtake Buffalo for the second place slot in the snow contest. Better yet though it is looking pretty good that both cities will melt some snow totals off of Syracuse’s lead they have.

Snowiest City in The US Snow Contest

Wait, it gets even better for those of you who also follow the National snow contest for Snowiest Big Cities in the US. Both Rochester and Buffalo should make a pretty good charge up the Golden Snow Globe snow mountain come the next update. As of yesterday, Buffalo was in 10th place and Rochester all the way down in 17th place. I think both cities come tomorrow will be really close at breaking into the Top 5 of the contest for snowiest Big cities in the country.

Stay Safe all and take it slow – See Snow – Drive Slow! Have an awesome day and stay tuned for the afternoon update.

It’s Snowing in Buffalo, Watch Out Syracuse

Posted by The Snowman on February 12, 2016
Posted in: Golden Snowball. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

First as always I want to give a big Thanks to those of you who have donated to the snow site. They really helped out a lot and I appreciate them. Thank You Adam B., Kerry H. and Keith S. for taking the time 😉
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OK, I know Buffalo and Rochester still trail Syracuse by 20 plus inches of snow this season but it looks like Buffalo may be closing the snow gap come the next update. I’m not sure about Rochester though.

Syracuse should be adding a little to their snow totals when the evening update is posted by the National Weather Service but I have a feeling Buffalo will be adding a lot more. I took a peek at the radar this morning before I headed to bed and it looked like some decent Lake Effect snow was just getting ready to head into Buffalo. I’m not sure how long it lasted but it looked like a decent snow band.

I’m looking at the radar right now and it looks like another band of Lake Effect is getting ready to drop down into Buffalo again. It should be interesting to see if Buffalo can get enough snow to make the snow contest close again. Let’s face it, it’s just not as much fun unless there is a snowball fight going on at the top of the snow hill.

All of the cities continue to be wayyy behind what their average snowfall to date should be right now. All of the cities are also way behind what they had at this time last season which the numbers above show. Luckily there is a lot of time left in the 2015-2016 snow season and I’m sure that makes everyone happy 🙂 Stay Tuned for another update a little later and try to stay warm.

Have an Awesome Day!