GoldenSnowball.com - A Fun New York Snow Contest

Buffalo and Rochester are making a charge to be the king of the hill. Snow hill that is and if they are smart they will wait until after around 6:30 or so because most likely there will be 30,000 plus SU fans on the SU hill to defend it with the Orangemen game against Marquette going on today. Just a heads up that the schedule says the game is at 2 pm but it’s actually at 4 pm. GO CUSE!!!

Here is a time lapse cam shot from Meddaugh on Wunderground that shows a 24 hour time lapse for the Rochester area for the March 7th and 8th storm.

Today, March 7th – 8th

Here is a time lapse cam from Springville, NY which I believe is just south east of Buffalo not far from Lake Erie. I found this on PMS’s wundergrounds site.

March 7th – 8th 2008

More New York weather cams at http://www.wunderground.com/webcams/index.html?state=NY

Buffalo broke a record for the day yesterday picking up 8.2 inches and there is more on the way. Both Rochester and Buffalo are making a late season charge to be the King of the snow mountain in hopes of winning the convented golden snowball trophy and Syracuse better be on the offense to fend them off and probably will be come later this evening. Rochester has closed the gap to almost within a foot of snow and all 3 cities WILL be getting snow today, tonight or both. Buffalo is also closing in on second place right now with less than 5 inches of the white gold separating them and Rochester who picked up 5.5 inches of snow and hit the 90 inch mark. It should be interesting as to how the cities rank come the end of Sunday.

Buffalo for the first time in a long, long time has finally gone over their average snowfall for the date but now Binghamton has fallen below theirs. Then again all of the Golden Snowball cities are over their last seasons totals now except for Syracuse.

From reading around and always check with your local meteorologists it looks like Syracuse may be getting only 3 – 7 inches of snow along with some winds to blow it around come later in the day or evening. Buffalo and Rochester could be getting another 9 – 17 inches by tomorrow morning along with some wind which is why I think the stats should be pretty interesting come tomorrow morning. Is there a new leader in the works???? Enjoy the weekend all and “See Snow, Drive Sow”. Take it slow out there on the roads today and tonight.

This late in the season you have to take what you can to win the Golden Snowball Award. My advice to Buffalo and Rochester is don’t blow it with this new storm coming our way.

I’ve been reading around and it looks like Buffalo and perhaps Rochester has a real shot at melting away some of the lead that Syracuse has on them. Once again this is one of those storms that can hit or miss some of us, rain or snow or like most of the other storms drop every type of precipitation you can think of on one or all of us. I’m hoping that Buffalo and Rochester can take a big dent out of the Cuse’s lead and it’s looking like west and north of Syracuse could be the winners this time with Syracuse most likely being right on the edge. Winter storm warnings are posted for all 3 right now up until I believe Sunday morning.

Most likely your thinking the same as I am, HERE WE GO AGAIN! A winter storm in the forecast and most likely much to do about nothing. If it’s going to be in the form of freezing rain and rain then lets hope it’s a miss. Right now things are so saturated from the mid week storm that I’m sure a lot of areas, rivers and streams can’t handle much more rain without causing problems especially down in the Binghamton area.

If it’s going to be a decent amount of snow then bring it on. I’m sure the way this winter has gone that those who snowmobile and ski would like to get in as much of it as they can before the warm weather settles in. Most likely it will be a heavy wet snow for a good part of it. You know, the kind that makes shoveling soooo much fun. Hopefully the storm will find some cold air some where to give us that nice fluffy snow that makes shoveling bearable and easier on the back.

From what I have read things should start going downhill sometime later this afternoon and probably sooner for Buffalo and the Rock and they probably have the best chances of picking up some snow along with the north by tomorrow morning. It’s pretty warm out right now in Syracuse, 42 degrees so if it does snow before rush hour hopefully it won’t be sticking to the roads. As always check with your local forecasters for what’s really going to happen and Good Luck to Buffalo and Rochester on keeping this race close. Hopefully the General and perhaps someone from the Rock will keep us updated as to what’s going on there. Have a Great weekend all and GO CUSE! Basketball that is 😉

Wow, another sunny day in New York. I lost count but it has to be about 3 sunny days now in the last couple of weeks. The headline above should be “Another Winter Storm Coming” but that’s getting old right now the way they have been turning out. We’ll let you know how bad this storm will be when it’s over with 😉 Right now the storm watches are starting to get posted and as always you can check out the latest weather watches and warnings for you city at http://www.weather.gov/view/prodsByState.php?state=ny&prodtype=warnings I just saw that it was snowing pretty good in Dallas, Texas area. I believe Texas is where the storm coming our way come Friday – Sunday is starting out. Of course I could be wrong like I have been for most of this season. From reading around a bit this next storm looks like advantage Buffalo. Of course that could change over the next 24 hours or so.

On a personal note congratulations goes out to my niece and nephew Amy and Greg on their new baby girl that was born this morning. I’m finally a great Uncle no matter what my other nieces and nephews have to say about that title. I suppose the only sad part is that they live out of town in Mass right now so it may be awhile before we get to see the little one. My mother is of course excited because it is her first Great Grand Child. OK, enough about us.

Syracuse is starting to slip away from the others so they better start getting serious about the season. I don’t think it’s anywhere near over as far as snow goes but I think we passed the hump and are now starting the home stretch which will be another 6 weeks or so. Buffalo is playing smart right now hanging out in the middle of the stats. They can make a move to the top of the snow hill or a move towards the bottom of it. They are still in striking distance of wither or in my opinion. Binghamton still has to be nervous about dropping to that bottom spot. No city wants to be beaten by Albany what we consider the winter vacation city of NY because of their usual lack of snowfall. This year I have to admit they are doing pretty good and are the closest right now to the average annual snowfall for the season. It’s been a bit boring lately but I still think this is a snow race and it’s not over til the fat man sings and I still haven’t sung yet. Have a great day all!

7:30 pm Update – It looks like freezing rain has started her in the Syracuse area. Either that or it’s freezing after it sits for awhile. Either way the car is just starting to get a light coat of ice on it. I’m out for awhile and will try to get an update in later tonight. Take it slow if your driving tonight.

Most if not all of the golden snowball cities are now under a winter storm warning for today and tonight. It’s another one of those hard to call storms because of the track of the storm and because of how most of the storms this season have been so far, the temperatures. It comes down to if it stays cold enough at the ground level then is will be snow. If it doesn’t stay cold enough then it will be a mix of #$&%&^$. It’s that simple!

OK, it’s really not that simple and after reading around a bit I am surprised to see how much the weather forecasters get slammed on their blogs for the way they forecast these storms. They take the weather tools they have and they do their best to predict what they think will happen. With storms like these it’s often hard to predict until it’s pretty much right on us. Eeeeks, I’m defending the forecasters? That should get me slammed a bit here. Hopefully not because like I said these types of storms can be hard for them to forecast.

As for the Storm warnings I was reading around and as of the wee hours of the morning freezing rain and a mix of everything else excluding the kitchen sink thank God, seems to be thrown in the forecast for today for most of the cities. Right now I’m a little concerned for Albany with the freezing rain amounts they mentioned and hopefully it doesn’t happen. At last check they were saying a possibility of 1/2 to 1 inch of freezing rain which could definitely cause some problems with trees and power lines. Binghamton could be in the same situation and right now as I type there has been some heavy precipitation right around them. I’m not sure whether it’s snow, rain or a mix though. Maybe Mike or one of the others from Binghamton will let us know what’s going on their way. I suppose in reality the freezing rain could cause some problems for all of us.

Summing it up look for things to deteriorate as the day goes on if it’s not already happening where you live. The warnings at first were going into tomorrow morning for most of the GSB cities but it looks like they brought them back for a few of us until later tonight but that could change as the day goes on. Click here for updated storm watches and warnings throughout the day and night.

Channel 9 online here in Syracuse always has a forum discussion going on about the weather which is worth checking out at http://community.9wsyr.com/blogs/weather_discussion/default.aspx A little bit of flaming goes on but they handle it good and when time permits they try to answer your questions there. They haven’t been answering mine lately but that’s most likely because I finally bored them to death with my lame questions 🙂

Because there are so many visitors from all over the the New York area I’m curious as to what your favorite sites are to get your local weather info from? I’m from the Syracuse are so I list a couple of mine every now and then and I just thought it would be fair to list some of the other cities weather sites on here.

Have a great day everyone and I’ll try to post a few updates as the weather changes. Remember, See Snow – Drive Slow!!!

Winter Storm Watch for Tuesday – Wednesday! It looks like it is due more to freezing rain than snow. Click here for your current storm watches and warnings.

Syracuse finally hit the 100 inch mark over the weekend with some persistent snowfall on Saturday. Saturday was also the first time this season I tested out to see how well I bounce these days. Not once but twice 🙂 Yup two times I slipped and went down for the count and fortunately both times no one was around to see me jump up really fast to see if anyone noticed. No bruises but the bum and back are feeling it more today than they were yesterday.

OK, enough about me. How are a couple of the other US cities doing so far this snow season? I checked out a couple of cities that were brought up to me to see if Syracuse will have bragging rights by the end of the season for the snowiest city with a population over 100,000 in the US. Canada will be next when I have some time for the North America bragging rights.

A visitor Brian mentioned that Grand Rapids, Michigan gets a decent amt of snow and I looked into it and he was right. I also knew that Madison Wisconsin was having an unusual snow season and their snowfall is up there pretty good although they are kind of at a stand still right now which probably won’t last. Here is what I came up with for numbers so far and if you know of any other cities w/pop over 100,00 with a lot of snow let us know and thanks for those who have already.

Syracuse, New York = 101.9
Grand Rapids, Michigan = 98.2 (Thanks Brian)
Madison Wisconsin = 89.8
Erie, Pa = 85.8 (Thanks Adam)
Rochester, New York – 83.1
Milwaukee, Wis = 80.2

The locations of the airports have also been coming up lately which they normally do every year. It comes down to a lot of good points have been made but it is what it is. I would try making some phone calls to see if they could be moved to better locations but I have a feeling it won’t work. Here is a thread from I think last season that covered it a little bit https://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1269336486158113204&postID=2239302106864800266

UPDATE – THE BELOW CONTEST HAS BEEN CANCELED??? – Most likely due to a more of a rain and mix event but maybe TQ will clue us in as to why?

TQ has another storm contest going on at http://www.newx-forecasts.com/ until 10:30 PM EST MON tonight. How his contests work is you try and guess how much snow several of the cities on the east coast will receive from passing storms. Two of the GSB cities Albany and Binghamton are in the contest. This will be contest #9 which goes to show how active this season has been so far and every now and then they will be called off because the storms sometimes turn into a bust. Anyways it’s always fun to see how you do compared with all the others that enter each time. Rookies and pros are all welcome to play along.

More Info – The NE.Wx Snowfall Forecast Contest (NEWxSFC) is a multi-month event that continues into late March or early April. In general…contests are held whenever a decent…synoptic-scale storm rears its head and threatens at least a half-dozen forecast stations with more than nuisance snowfall amounts. Forecasters are called to post their ‘storm total’ snowfall predictions…on deadline…for 27 NWS / FAA observing stations scattered about New England and the Mid-Atlantic regions. The Contest Administrator determines the deadlines for entries…verifies all forecasts…and publishes the final results to the Contest/s web site.

It’s easy to enter Enter your forecast via the Contest/s web site @ http://www.newx-forecasts.com/ Follow the link to ‘Enter Storm Forecast.’ Registration is simple… requiring only a username and password. If you provide a valid e-mail address…a copy of your forecast will be sent to you. TQ has never sent out any spam and the only emails I receive are related to the contests so give it a try and have a little fun with the snow.

We mentioned the possibility of another storm this week. I’m sure the General and others will keep us updated as to what’s going on. Remember we are not meteorologists and just throw out possibilities all in fun. Always check with your local pros and NOAA for updated info. Have a Great week all!

Well per usual the models are again hinting at a potentially MAJOR storm system heading up our way. A few things concern me about this potential storm.

1. It has not been getting much hype from the media/NWS or other internet weather blogs as was seen leading up to previous dud storms.

2. This is by far the most impressive looking setup of any storm yet this season and it continues to look even more impressive as we get closer to zero hour.

3. The models have bombed almost every storm this season (well not every one, but a higher than usual percent). So we are more than due for one to finally come through or better yet be worse then the models called for.

A lot is still up in the air (no pun intended) about this storm. It is certain to start as some rain during the inital start of the storm, but it’s get tricky as to how quick it could change over to snow or even change to a heavy freezing rain/sleet mix. The two major models each have a different hold on the storm right now. One plays out a rather major late season snowstorm for mainly the Western New York and far upstate Northern areas of New York. The other cities look to miss out on the heavy snow but will still see a good shot of it as the storm moves east and departs. The second models lays the stage for a potential ice storm to effect western and northern new york. A third idea pulls the storm a different direction and gives us all just plain old rain.

Should have a better idea of what the storm will bring us later tonight and into tomorrow morning. I’ll have a better update tonight!