New York State Golden Snowball Award

Robins, NCAA and Great Weather

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:23:00 +0000

It looks like the Robins are starting to come back into town. This morning was the first one that I have seen. Normally I will see a few when I first see them but only one this time. It looks like he/she has the whole neighborhood to itself for the time being. Has anyone else been seeing them?

Nothing to talk about as far as snow goes. When I updated the National contest earlier in the week only a handful of cities had snow to add to their totals. This week has been awesome weather wise and I finally got the car cleaned out. Yup, took the camping stuff out from last year including tent, sleeping bags and cooler. I also took out the golf clubs, dusted them off but put them back into the car. My son called from the golf course today but I couldn't get out. Too busy watching the NCAA Tourney.

CONGRATS to CORNELL BIG RED - Wooo Hooo

Syracuse plays tonight and after the tough start the Big East teams had yesterday so far so good today with Pitt and West Virginia winning big. Yesterday the BE went 1-3 and most likely killed one of my brackets. I'm still OK on 2 others I played. All for fun and just matchsticks as the prize of course ;) The bracket that got killed I made it a big east final four with Georgetown and Notre Dame in there. Both teams lost of course. I think the worse thing about it is with all of the upsets so far up until tonight I only had 6 losses on that one and the only loss on the left side of the bracket was Georgetown :( Oh well, hopefully the other 2 will pull through for me. How are all of you doing on your tourney picks. Just one sweet 16 loss so far on my end. Good Luck All and hopefully everyone has been enjoying the weather. I'm still thinking some more snow to go after these teaser days disappear.

Have a Super Weekend!!!

Still Just a Snow Storm Away

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:19:00 +0000

Update - Finally got a full update in on the snowiest US city contest at goldensnowglobe.com

First off thanks for all the posts and emails offering condolences, thoughts and prayers. They were deeply appreciated :)

Second off congrats to the Syracuse Orangemen on being ranked #1 in all of the basketball polls this week. Wooo Hooo and Go Cuse!!! It's been a fun season.

Now back to the snow contest ;) The stats were just updated and although the snow season is winding down it's Rochester and even Binghamton are just a snow storm away from over taking Syracuse as the snowiest city in the Golden Snowball contest and March has had some good ones so it ain't over until the fat man sings and I'm not singing yet.

Binghamton has been the surprise city in my opinion this season so far. Right now they are less than an inch from their normal seasonal snowfall. They are also the only city above their totals for this time last season. No doubt the biggest slagger is Buffalo right now. They are below their normal average seasonal snowfall to date and who would have thought they would be in 4th place this far into the season. Not me!

Rochester is hanging with Da'Cuse still and thats were a storm that hangs to the west could set them up for a victory. I know it was either last season or the season before where Buffalo and Rochester picked up about a couple of feet late in the contest and Syracuse didn't get squat. Something to think about. I think ZR or one of the other visitors should do a little snow dance to see if they can close the gap. Right now it's looking like some warmer temps are here for several days but I don't think we have seen the last of the cold and the way this season has been so far anything can happen.

Have a Great Day All!

Snow Updates Coming Soon

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:57:00 +0000

Normally I wouldn't post something like this here for the fact of keeping the site fun but I've been getting a ton of emails wondering why no updates lately. Rather than answering all the emails I'll just post here. A few days ago my Mom passed away and it's been a couple of tough months before that which is why it's been hit and miss. Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll be getting something up here. Thanks for understanding ;)

Syracuse Hits 100 Inches Binghamton on the Move

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:30:00 +0000

Noonish Update - The NOAA stats for Buffalo and Rochester were posted around 4:30 this morning and we have another change in the snowfall lineup. Binghamton has knocked Buffalo down to the number 4 spot on the snow hill. Right now it looks like the storm is flaring up a bit around Rochester and swirling it's way towards Buffalo.

Syracuse finally hit the 100 inch mark as of around Midnight but I think the bigger news is how Binghamton is making a move on the cities to the north. Buffalo and Rochester haven't had their stats updated since yesterday afternoon as I'm typing and I think the new stats come out around 4 - 5 am when I'll be napping. That said there is a good chance that by the end of today Bingo just might be moving up a spot, hmmm, or two. More to come later today! Night All!

Winter Storm Warnings for New York

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:13:00 +0000

Well finally it looks lie it's a go for some decent snow and it's about time. At last check I think Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse were all under winter storm warnings for a good part of tomorrow into Friday.

From reading around the general amounts seem to be in the 8 - 12 inch range and if it stalls a couple of cities could get more. Remember I'm clueless and with that in mind it's looking like Binghamton could may make out the best.

Good Luck and Drive Careful Everyone!

Rochester Still Throwing Snowballs at Buffalo

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:52:00 +0000

It looks like Rochester doesn't want any part of third place this season. Every time Buffalo moves up the snow hill The Rock just pushes them back down it. I think it's time for the cities to start doing a snow dance. I'll be doing one more before the snow season winds down for the fact that the golden snowball contest and the National snow contest are just a little too close for comfort. GO CUSE!!!!

The snow stats for the snowiest US city pop 100,000 was just updated a little while ago. Check it out at goldensnowglobe.com .

Have a Super Week All!

Buffalo Slips into 2nd Place by A couple of Flakes

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:50:00 +0000

Since the last update here and I'm sorry about the lack of them Buffalo has slid past Rochester and is now in second place. Only a couple of tenths of an inch separate the two cities and the question is will one of them start piling up the snow to challenge Syracuse?

The New York snow race is still close with just a snow storm or two separating the top 3. A couple good lake effect snow events to the west of Syracuse could also put either Buffalo or Rochester on the top. Could this be the season that Da'Cuse goes down??? Still plenty of time left to see who ends up king of the snow hill.

Have a Super Day All!

Syracuse is Winning GSB But Losing Nationally

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:46:00 +0000

Syracuse still has a narrow snow lead here in the golden snowball contest buttt.... They just got bumped from the top spot in the national snow contest for snowiest big cities. With the last couple of storms in the Pa, Md and Dc states it was bound to happen. Syracuse and Rochester got smacked by a snowball or two to drop but Buffalo managed to hang on to their spot since the last update.

Check it out at goldensnowglobe.com

It's still pretty quiet for most of the GSB cities although Binghamton was able to pull in some snow from the last storm. Hopefully this weekend we can add some good snow to the totals but so far the way the season has been going..... It just may be time for another snow dance and if NYCO is reading please start sucking up to the Snow God or something.

Have a great day all!

Just a Foot of Snow Separating the Top 3

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:47:00 +0000

I'm still loving how close the golden snowball contest is this season. Just a foot of snow give or take a little separates the top 3 cities. For those of you who follow the contest you know that's nothing.

Syracuse seems to add a little here and there each day but so does Rochester and Buffalo. I just wish that one of the bigger storms like the one that just hit the coast would start coming farther up north and more to the west so that we can have some fun too.

I did just update the Snowiest city in the US website at goldensnowglobe .com and things are getting really interesting for the national snow contest. Check it out at Golden Snow Globe.

Cheers and have a Great night all!!!

Rochester Slides into Second Place

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:08:00 +0000

It's about time we had some kind of change in the lineup. From the looks of it Rochester overtook Buffalo on the snow hill and now are in the number 2 spot. Go Rock!!! I did notice a drop for Buffalo's stats which could be either a mistake or an adjustment in the stats. Buffalo lost I think a tenth of an inch since I updated the stats at goldensnowglobe.com . Could be something new where NOAA takes away from the totals as the snow melts.

The good news is that as of the last reports from NOAA that would move Rochester up to second place in the national snow contest, Woooo Hoooo. Only by a couple of tenths of an inch though but Erie, Pa hasn't updated since around midnight compared to a 7:30 update for Rochester. I'm really liking that both of the snow races are still really close this late in the season and I like even more that ALl 3 of the GSB cities are in contention for the 1st place king of the hill and king of the mountain :) More to come later!

Have a Super Day Everyone!

Eeny, Meeny, Miny Snow

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:10:00 +0000

I just took a look at the radar and the game eeny, meeny, miny, moe comes to mind when trying to figure out which city is going to make out the best in the next 24 hours or so :) Any Guesses???

Right now it looks like the winds have shifted around Buffalo and coming from more of a north - northwest flow right so in my opinion all 3 of the Big cities have a shot at piling up some good snow amounts with either Buffalo, Rochester or Syracuse getting a little extra over the others. If I were to guess and that's normally all I can do (remember I'm clueless) I would guess that the heavier bands are going to set up right between Rochester and Syracuse.

That said Buffalo added another 5+ inches to their totals since the last update so they have a shot at taking the lead if the Arctic air stays on more of a northern pattern. Again, remember the source. Me :( Either way it should get slick in all of the cities off and on and lets see if we can come up with a lead change.

Here in the Syracuse area a pretty good band went by this morning dropping around 2 inches in probably under an hour and most likely did the same for Buffalo and Rochester. IMO it's a toss of the coin as to which city will win this round of snowfall. Right now mostly sunny with the winds picking up ;)

Have a great Evening and remember "Snow Means Slow"! Take it easy out there.

Rain and 50 Degrees or Snow and 25 Degrees

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:30:00 +0000

Sorry about the lack of updates but there hasn't really been anything to update. All of the golden snowball cities are below their normal snowfall for this time in the season. The next few days hopefully will start things up again but for how long. Let's hope the rest of the snow season. Yesterday was a warm but rainy day which makes me ask,

Would you rather have a day like yesterday with a ton of rain and the temperature around 50 degrees or would you rather have the cold and snow? My opinion is that the weather yesterday was just to dark and gloomy for me. I'd rather have the white stuff falling myself.

Hey, how about DA'CUSE? Great game against Georgetown last night and a great season so far. GO CUSE!!!!!

Can You Stump the Weather Chump

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:20:00 +0000

Both snow contest stats have been updated as of this morning ;)

Stephen aka PSUSyr5 has been posting some fun forecasts on the Golden Snow Globe website It's all in fun and lets see if we can get some interaction. Here is what Stephen posted to get you all involved. You can pick an area in New York State or any other region in the United States. The idea IMO is to make it a hard one so we can stump the weather chump ;)

From PSUSyr5 - You’ve seen the Golden Snow Cast forecasts, but none of them have been for an area where you live. Or, perhaps there is a region out there that you’d like to see a forecast for, and the Golden SnowCast didn’t cover it. After all, there is only one World prediction in each Golden SnowCast forecast, so the chances of coverage for a specific area are quite small for a given time period. Or, maybe the Golden SnowCast did cover your area previously, but now you want more.

Say hello to Stump the Weather Chump. This is your chance to be a part of the forecasts. Just make a reply to this, or any Golden Snow Cast or Stump the Weather Chump post stating at least the region for which you would like a forecast. You can also mention what you would like in the forecast as well (temperature, precipitation, etc). I would like to keep the forecasts to 2-3 days ahead. Some forecasts may be general statements (at least half of the cities in the area will have temperatures 5 below average, all cities will have at least an inch of snow, etc) or involve a range (high temperatures 40-45, snow 1-3 inches, etc). That will mostly depend on what’s out there and the details given in the forecast request. So, basically, this will be like the Golden Snowcast forecast, except you control the forecast elements.

As with the Golden Snowcast, I’ll be keeping track of my progress (or lack there of) with this.

Have a Great Sunday All!!!

Both of Our Snow Contests Mentioned

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:09:00 +0000

Sean Kirst a journalist for the Post Standard here in the Syracuse area put out an article today that mentions both our New York State snow contest and our new national snow race which I thought was pretty cool. You can check it out HERE at Syracuse.com . Thanks for the mention and the story Sean ; )

Rochester's Snowflakes are Adding Up

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:56:00 +0000

It's been kind of quiet the last few days but Rochester is slowly inching it's way back toward the top. They've taken 4 inches off of Syracuse's lead over them to be only 9 inches away from the lead and right now are less than a couple of inches away from reclaiming 2nd place in the Golden Snowball contest.

There is still a lot of Winter left and the race is a whole lot closer than it was at this time last season. In other words the golden snowball trophy is up for grabs for all of the GSB cities right now. Even Binghamton is staying close enough to the top to have a shot at the trophy.

I'm in the process of gathering the snow stats for the national contest and they will be posted later today. It should be interesting to see how the North East ends up this round.

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Have a Great Day All!

Syracuse in a Two Way Tie for Snowiest US City

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:43:00 +0000

Syracuse just tied Fort Collins, Colorado for the snowiest big city in the United States. It gets even better though. Rochester and Buffalo are right behind them in the top 10. Go Cuse, Go Rock, Go Buffalo!!!!

The Golden Snowball Winter Prediction

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:33:00 +0000

It just dawned on me that I haven't done a winter forecast prediction yet here at goldensnowball.com . Maybe I'll get it up before the snow season is over. I suppose I could wait another couple months and really nail it down good huh? I'll do the research and try and put it up later tonight :) Obviously with most of the cities above normal right now you may think I will go that way. Could be ;)

Also, I just updated the national snow stats. You can check them out here. A little bit of shifting around in the top 10 snowiest cities but not a whole lot. All of the GSB cities survived the top 10 but it's definitely getting pretty close in that race also.

Forgetful Was My Middle Name Yesterday

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +0000

OK! Nothing to do about snow right now but I was just thinking about how much was on my work plate yesterday. My mind was going in a zillion directions and then I got an email from my sister, older sister, way older sister that had this video. The reason I'm making the point of wayyyyyyyyyy older sister is because she put me about 3 years ahead of the age I really am on my last birthday which was just before the holidays. In other words Pay Back is a :0)

Anyways, yesterday I would go to do this and end up doing something else and forgetting what I was suppose to do in the first place. The video pretty much sums it up. Can anyone else relate to it???

Defending Snow Champ Syracuse Sleds into The Lead

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:50:00 +0000

Da Cuse is in the Igloo, err house. Syracuse has finally for the first time this season taken the lead in the Golden Snowball contest. You know it's a good snow race when Syracuse was near the bottom most of the season and at the bottom at one point. Can they hold on to the top spot til the finish. Nah! Not the way the season has been going so far. I expect several more lead changes :)

Buffalo isn't even close to throwing in the shovel yet and I don't think Rochester is either. Rochester was the big surprise with the weekend snowfall only posting about 6 1/2 inches but I'm sure they will be winning several rounds this season to keep it close. Even our neighbors to the South, Binghamton is still holding tough and post some snow just about every day now. I'm going to keep saying it! It's going to be a great snow race for the 2009 - 2010 season.

GO CUSE!!!!

The Golden Snow Globe Cities Are Updated

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:56:00 +0000

I just got through updating the snowiest US city website at goldensnowglobe.com. All 3 cities, Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester have finally snowed their way into the top 10. Check out the latest snow stats for that contest.

GO NEW YORK!!!!

The Latest New York Storm Totals for a 1/2 & 1/3

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:26:00 +0000

5:30 PM New Snow Stats - Buffalo, Albany and Rochester's latest stats have just been posted at NOAA and Buffalo is looking pretty good with a 2 day total so far of 14.3 inches. Rochester and Albany didn't fair quite as good. At least not at the airports. Rochester is showing 2.6 for Sat & 3.5 so far today for a storm total of 6.1 inches. Albany shows just a couple of inches. Syracuse and Binghamton's stats just came out as I am typing and it's looking good for Syracuse with a 2 day storm total of 14.5 so far. Bingo is only reporting 1.4 inches.

Buffalo holds on to the King of the hill title and Syracuse jumps all the way up to second place while Binghamton who was in first place just yesterday drops all the way down to fourth. More to come because it's still snowing and the question is can Buffalo hold off DaCuse?

2 Day Storm Totals as of about 5 PM Sunday and still counting:

Syracuse - 14.5
Buffalo - 14.3
Rochester - 6.1
Albany - 2.0
Binghamton - 1.4

AND IT'S NOT OVER YET :)

Sunday 4:00 PM - Just went out and shoveled and if I were to do a guesstimate I would say about 15 inches so far since about midnight Saturday. Hopefully at least that at the airport. Probably about the same going on here today as Patrick from Rochester just posted in the comments. A steady light snow here in DaCuse. It keeps getting dark like it wants to fire up but then lightens up again. What's it doing in your area and thanks for the updates everyone? Depending on what the other US cities are doing we may be able to get all 3 of our cities in the top 10. I'm holding off for now on the update until most of the snow stops falling for the Goldensnowglobe website.

Noon Sunday - Awesome says it all! The stats were just updated but keep in mind that they were from late last night (around 1:00 am) for Syracuse, Binghamton and Albany. The stats for Buffalo and Rochester were as of about 5 - 5:30 am this morning. Buffalo has retaken the lead once again but can they stay King come the next update later today?

I'm going to give Syracuse the advantage right now for the fact that I shoveled about 6 inches around 3:00 am this morning and I just measured another 6 inches. So I would say Syracuse has at least another 10 inches to add as of right now. Just remember I'm always wrong ;) A good part of New York is still getting snow and should be for a good part of the day so hopefully we will have some decent numbers to post later on.

Have a great day all!

3:30 PM - Nothing in the Syracuse area but a few flakes. It does look like the snow up North is slowly trying to make it down to us though. Hopefully this won't be a bust like it was earlier in the week :( Buffalo and Rochester look like they may be getting some decent snow. Any snow coming down where you live right now?

There has been a few lead changes the last several days which can only mean one thing. This is an exciting snow race this season ;)

Yesterday we had two king of the snow hills! Buffalo overtook Rochester as king of the hill at one point by 1 tenth of an inch. Binghamton wasn't having any part of that though pushing Buffalo down the hill where they now sit in the middle of the hill planning their return to the top. Rochester sits at the #2 spot while the Syracusans are finally making up lost snow and are thinking maybe, just maybe they will be the King of the snow hill some time tomorrow. Rochester may throw a snowball or two into Syracuse's plans though.

Snow is in the forecast for all of the GSB cities for today and tomorrow. After looking at some of the forecasts I'm thinking it's either going to be The Rock or Da Cuse at the top come tomorrow night. Just remember it's me thinking that and I'm normally wrong ;) I'll be trying to throw in a few extra snow stat updates as they roll in and get posted on NOAA and remember Snow Means Slow. Take it slow that is unless your on a sled of course :)

I'm also going to try and update the national snow contest today. It should be interesting to see where Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse stand nationally after this weekend is over. I know Michigan has been getting some good snow along with a couple other states.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone!

Happy New Year!

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:18:00 +0000

Here is something that my sister sent me and has been showing up in emails that I want to share with Ya's.

My Wish for ALL of You in 2010

May peace break into your home and may thieves come to steal your debts.
May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills.
May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips!
May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy
May the problems you had, forget your home address!
In simple words ............

May 2010 be the best year of your life!!!

Have a Super, Happy. Prosperous and Healthy New Year All!

Cheers,
Pat

A Golden Snowball Snow Race to The Finish?

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:49:00 +0000

Gotta Love It! Less than 4 inches of snow separate 4 of the golden snowball cities heading into the New Year. I think this is probably the closest race going into January since the Golden Snowball contest started up again several years ago. The good thing is that snow is in the forecast for the next several days so it should get even more interesting to see which city wins this latest round. Some of the snow looked like it was hanging to the south so Binghamton may have a shot at making a move in the next update.

Looking at the stats from this time last season Syracuse was sledding to victory with an almost two foot lead over Buffalo and Rochester. Not this season! Syracuse still remains near the bottom but has slowly inched it's way back into the snow race. Just a few flakes of snow separate Buffalo from Rochester and like I mentioned, I'm loving it.

In the national snow contest none of the cities from New York are in the top 10. Both Rochester and Buffalo dropped out and Syracuse has been lucky just to even be in the contest. Syracuse did make a big jump though from 36th place to 25th and that's not counting the snow from the last day or two. Buffalo and Rochester are hanging right around the top 10 snowiest cities for this season but all of us have are work cut out for us. I'm still thinking that the cities to beat are going to be the us three along with Grand Rapids, Michigan, Erie, Pa and a few of the cities in Colorado. Don't forget though, I'm normally wrong ;)

Have a Great, Safe Happy New Years Eve All!

Has The Snow God Been Dusted Off

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:37:00 +0000

Hopefully everyone had a fantastic Christmas! It's time to get back to work on the snow stats after a tiring but fun family break ; ) Keep an eye on the weather on Tuesday because it will be nasty driving in a lot of places.

OK, I hinted in a reply or two that I was curious if the Snow God has been awaken from his/her hibernation this season and it appears that that NYCO, the keeper of the Snow God completely forgot about him/her *cough* *cough*

Quote from Ellen (NYCO)

"Oh my God! Just this morning I realized... I FORGOT TO PUT OUT THE SNOW GOD this year.

I totally forgot. How could this have happened.

He is displeased with us in Syracuse now! Very displeased!!!"

That could explain the wimpy winter we've been having here in the Syracuse area and in CNY. The snow has been picking up a bit the last few days and it's looking to look more like winter this week than it has been looking so I can only assume the Snow God is all shined up and ready to let it rip. NYCO?. Lets just hope that the Snow God isn't too ticked off and decides to bury us the next few months. Hmmmm, or should we hope he/she is ticked :)

It's Buffalo by 1 snowflake over Rochester at the last look at the snow stats and that may be bouncing back and forth this week. Buffalo went from third place in the New York snow race to first and Binghamton dropped down to third place. I'm really not liking the way the top 3 seem to be separating themselves from the bottom 2 at this point but there is still a lot of snowfall to come. Look for more frequent updates from here on.

As for the national snow contest I really don't have a clue. Well maybe a clue but I haven't updated those stats in several days and there has been a lot of snow falling in some of the Northern US cities so that should be interesting once I update those stats a little later on.

Have a Great Tuesday and Drive Carefully!

The Snow Contest is Getting Closer

comments@goldensnowball.com (Patrick) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:54:00 +0000

Sorry about the lack of updates all but it tis the season and with family in town it's going to be hit and miss. The snow stats for the 5 golden snowball cities have been updated and it's still looking to be a good snow race this season.

Syracuse finally got off the bottom of the snow hill with 4.6 inches being reported so far for yesterday. I think the strangest thing about the snow stats for Syracuse was that they actually set a daily date record with only 4.6 inches on December 23rd that dated all the way back to 1953. You would think that this far into the snow season it would take more than that to break a record wouldn't you?

Rochester is still hanging tough at the top but barely with Binghamton and Buffalo trying to close in. Albany is finally where they belong, at least for now.

I think the stats that stand out the most right now is that all of the GSB cities are behind last seasons stats and their normal stats for this time of the season. Syracuse is over 50 inches behind in snow compared to last year at this time with Rochester the only city staying close to normals. I'll try and sneak another update in before Christmas and maybe update a few cities in the national snow race but if not:

Have A Safe and Merry Christmas Everyone