Golden Snowball

Let The 2015-2016 Snow Games Begin

Posted by The Snowman on October 18, 2015
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Binghamton, New York kicked off the new 2015 – 2016 snow season by picking up 0.2 inches of snow yesterday. Congrats Binghamton and let the 2015 – 2016 Golden Snowball snow games begin. I’m sure everyone is sooo happy to get that pesky summer out of the way and start up the Winter season huh 🙂 I didn’t think so 🙁 The good news is that, ummm, OK, there really isn’t too much good news because we all have a long snowy season ahead of us.

Buffalo is way overdue to win the Golden Snowball contest and I have a feeling this may be Buffalo’s season to do it. Buffalo has come really close the last couple of seasons and of course who can forget last season when they received that epic snowfall that unfortunately hit all around the area but missed the airport. Since the Ressurection of the Golden Snowball contest Rochester has been the only city to dethrone Syracuse from the top of the snow hill and it will be interesting to see if The Rock has it in them this season.

Binghamton has actually won the contest way back in the past when the original Golden Snowball contest was running, but that was a long time ago. I think it will take some pretty weird weather for them to win it again. Then there is Albany. Enough said about Albany 😉

It should be a fun 2015 – 2016 snow season so break out the gloves, boots and whatever else you need to make it through the winter. I’ll take a look later at the snow stats when they get updated again to see if any of the other cities have any measurable snowfall to report so stay tuned. Last I looked there was still a lot of lake effect snow falling around some of the Golden Snowball cities.

The National Snow Contest, the Golden Snow Globe started up several days back with Anchorage, Alaska picking up 2.8 inches of snow for the new season. Click Here for the snowiest big cities in the country at the National snow contest.

Have an Awesome Sunday Everyone 😉

Goldensnowball.com Is Up For Sale With Deep Regrets

Posted by The Snowman on June 29, 2015
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I have sold a website or two in the past but without a doubt selling The Golden Snowball site is the hardest choice I have had to ever make. The Golden Snowball website has been my baby for something like 12-13 (seasons) years now and I have loved every minute of it. Whether it was just updating snow stats, answering emails or comments or doing research for one of you who may have had a question about snow or the snow contest. I REALLY Truly did love every part of being the stats keeper for the Golden Snowball contest and had a blast with all of you 🙂

For more information or to bid on the snow site click here!

I went back and forth I don’t know how many time as whether to sell the site or not. It comes down to recent developments with a recent move to North Carolina to be with my Grandson and Daughter and having some health problems since I have been here. Nothing major I don’t think and I won’t go into it but the bills are adding up being a self payer when it comes to the doctor bills and well, Enough about that and me 😉

Thanks to all of you, I was lucky enough where the site took care of itself in the winter between donations and ads that were on the site. This is only one of two of my sites that wasn’t about making money but about having fun which I have had for 12 years now give or take. That’s all because of you who have visited the site over the years. Well over a Million people both snow lovers and haters 🙂

I am hoping that someone local from one of the cities that are in the snow contest is able to take over the snow site. The website is up for sale at an auction on Flippa and unfortunately I have no control over who purchases the site. The good news in a way (for me anyways) is that if no one comes up with the price I am asking for the site then you will all still be stuck with me. It really will be nice if one of the local news channels or a local weather nut like myself ends up taking over.

The media from most of the cities and even National have been great to me, to the site and to the contest. Syracuse media including The Post Standard, Syracuse.com, CNY and TV 9. The Buffalo and Rochester media. A Big Thanks!

Sean Kirst from the Post-Standard and Syracuse.com stand out big time. I know everyone from Syracuse knows Sean from his award-winning journalism and most likely those of you that are not from Syracuse have read articles about the Golden Snowball Award that Sean has written. I am just a little peon compared to Sean when it came to getting the Golden Snowball contest going again.

Sean being the humble person he is will blow it off but Sean has been my mentor right from the beginning. I always love answering the phone when Sean was ready to write something about the snow contest. Not because of the publicity that the site would get but because I have always enjoyed just shooting the sh&* with him. The Funny thing is that when he calls he always says “Hey Pat, this is Sean”. For those of you that know him, you know he has a deep extinguished voice that can’t be mistaken for anyone else. Just once I wish I said “Oh really, I thought it was Tiny Tim”. 🙂

Anyways when it comes to the Golden Snowball Contest I suggest if anyone buys the site that they hook up with Sean because without a doubt he is the Real Oracle of the contest. The person I always turn to 😉

OK, I’m not sure if the site will sell at the price I am asking for and if it doesn’t I can honestly say I won’t be sad. I’ll be broke, lol 🙂 but I can live with it. If anyone is interested in taking over the site and I hope, keeping it pretty much like it is you can go to Flippa. com and bid on the Golden Snowball site here.

Cheers,
Patrick

It’s a Wrap, Syracuse Wins The NY Golden Snowball Contest

Posted by The Snowman on May 1, 2015
Posted in: Golden Snowball. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Congratulations Syracuse on Winning the 2014-2015 Golden Snowball Award 🙂

It’s a wrap! Syracuse, New York has won this season’s Golden Snowball Award barely beating out Buffalo, NY by only 6.8 inches of snow. Not quite as close as last season when Syracuse won the contest by only 2.1 inches of snow. With all of that epic snowfall that fell around the Buffalo area back in November but missed the airport, I have to admit this probably should have been Buffalo’s season at the top.

I’m always nervous about making the “It’s a Wrap” post because as most of you all know it’s not unusual for most of the cities to get some snow in May. I do feel more confident though after reading around about average or above average temperatures to take over in the long term forecast. Let’s just say I feel more confident calling it this season than I did last season.

Syracuse long term forecast

Long term forecast for Buffalo

April 30th is the date that the city of Syracuse decided to go with which is a lot better than what they originally wanted which was April 1st. Let’s hope Mother Nature doesn’t have a whole lot of Freaky weather planned for May.

A Summary of the 2014-2015 Golden Snowball Snow Season

Buffalo held the lead for a good part of the snow season, but Syracuse managed to take over the lead from Buffalo around 2/22/15. Below is a look at how some of this seasons snow season went.

Start of This Snow Season – Snowfall Totals Updated 11/8/2014

* Around 11/8/2014 Binghamton was in first place and was the city that started off the 2014 – 2015 snow season for the Golden Snowball Award with 0.2 inches of snowfall. WTG Binghamton 🙂

Binghamton 0.2 1.8 Trace 83.4 134.0 inches (1995 – 1996)
Buffalo Trace 2.0 Trace 94.7 199.4 inches (1976 – 1977)
Rochester Trace 1.1 0.2 99.5 161.7 inches (1959 – 1960)
Syracuse Trace 1.6 0.2 123.8 192.1 inches (1992 – 1993)
Albany Trace 0.3 Trace 59.1 112.5 inches (1970 – 1971)

Syracuse Takes The Snow Lead

* Syracuse took the lead over on or around 11/14/2014 with 2.9 inches of snow and held the lead until around 11/17 Our current leader, Buffalo was in last place at the time.

Syracuse 2.2 2.9 0.4 123.8 192.1 inches (1992 – 1993)
Binghamton 1.3 2.7 2.0 83.4 134.0 inches (1995 – 1996)
Buffalo 0.2 3.3 0.7 94.7 199.4 inches (1976 – 1977)
Rochester 0.2 2.2 1.8 99.5 161.7 inches (1959 – 1960)
Albany 0.1 0.7 Trace 59.1 112.5 inches (1970 – 1971)

Buffalo Takes The Lead From Syracuse

* Buffalo took the lead from Syracuse the following day on or around 11/18/2014 and Rochester also passed Syracuse and jumped into 2nd place.

Buffalo 4.0 4.3 0.7 94.7 199.4 inches (1976 – 1977)
Rochester 3.2 3.1 1.8 99.5 161.7 inches (1959 – 1960)
Syracuse 2.9 4.0 0.4 123.8 192.1 inches (1992 – 1993)
Binghamton 2.9 3.4 2.0 83.4 134.0 inches (1995 – 1996)
Albany 1.0 1.0 Trace 59.1 112.5 inches (1970 – 1971)

Buffalo and Syracuse Tie for 1st, Buffalo Still at Top

* On January 7th or 8th Buffalo and Syracuse were tied for 1st place in the snow contest with 34.0 inches each.

Buffalo 34.0 42.7 55.3 94.7 199.4 inches (1976 – 1977)
Syracuse 34.0 49.9 51.9 123.8 192.1 inches (1992 – 1993)
Binghamton 31.6 29.5 46.0 83.4 134.0 inches (1995 – 1996)
Rochester 29.8 35.3 48.0 99.5 161.7 inches (1959 – 1960)
Albany 26.6 20.4 31.6 59.1 112.5 inches (1970 – 1971)

Syracuse Takes The Lead and Top of Snow Hill for Good

* Right around 2/22/15 Syracuse picked up enough snow to slip past Buffalo for the rest of the snow season. Buffalo never gave up and kept it close right til the end.



Syracuse 101.3 96.8 100.0 123.8 192.1 inches (1992 – 1993)
Buffalo 101.1 75.4 97.7 94.7 199.4 inches (1976 – 1977)
Rochester 85.1 74.4 78.6 99.5 161.7 inches (1959 – 1960)
Binghamton 75.5 60.2 81.8 83.4 134.0 inches (1995 – 1996)
Albany 70.6 44.0 64.8 59.1 112.5 inches (1970 – 1971)

The Season Wraps up With Syracuse on Top – CONGRATS ‘CUSE

* Hopefully the snow is done falling and the warm weather is here for good. If by chance Buffalo was to slip ahead with some freaky May weather I will get in touch with the Mayor of Syracuse and I am sure she would be more than happy to start up the snow contest again and give the award to Buffalo 😉


Syracuse 119.7 123.7 132.0 123.8 192.1 inches (1992 – 1993)
Buffalo 112.9 94.4 129.9 94.7 199.4 inches (1976 – 1977)
Rochester 101.9 99.1 112.7 99.5 161.7 inches (1959 – 1960)
Binghamton 93.4 83.3 85.4 83.4 134.0 inches (1995 – 1996)
Albany 75.9 59.0 73.5 59.1 112.5 inches (1970 – 1971)




Feel Free to Buy Us a Cold One for The Hot Summer Ahead 😉

Have a Great Spring and Summer Everyone and I’ll See You in a Couple of Months 😉

Binghamton Adds Snow, Syracuse Still Leads

Posted by The Snowman on April 23, 2015
Posted in: Golden Snowball. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

First off, a Big Thanks goes out to Evelyn M. for your recent donation to the snow site. Thank You Evelyn for taking the time, I really appreciate it 🙂

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Binghamton is the only city so far reporting snow from what could be our last blast of cold air. Binghamton picked up 0.3 inches of snow yesterday to bring their snow totals to 93.2 but unless some super freaky weather hits I’m pretty sure Binghamton is out of the running along with Rochester and Albany.

Syracuse’s snow lead over Buffalo is still just a little over 6 inches is looking good with the end of the contest fast approaching, but we still have some cold air around so no way have they clinched the snow title yet. All it will take is one decent band to set up over Buffalo and it will be interesting.

Looking at the snow stats I noticed that Syracuse is the only city in the Golden Snowball contest that is behind their normal snowfall to date. All of the other cities have already hit their normal snowfall for the season. Albany is winning that battle with 16.8 more snow than a typical snow season for them.

I’m guessing that after the taste of warm weather pretty much everyone is ready to get the snow contest over with and move on to Summer. It won’t be long and keep in mind that the normal call it a wrap date is May first so we are only about a week away. Stay Tuned 😉

Have an Awesome Day Everyone!

Buffalo is Melting Syracuse’s Snow Lead Away

Posted by The Snowman on March 29, 2015
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First off Congrats to Rochester on joining the 100 inches of snow club 🙂 Rochester is the 3rd city in the Golden Snowball contest to join both Syracuse and Buffalo in the 100 inch club. Now keep it going Roc to make this a 3-way race this season.

It was only about 4-5 days ago where it was starting to look pretty good for Syracuse. Syracuse had an almost 10 inch lead on Buffalo but as always and pretty much what happened last season Buffalo stepped it up a notch and has been melting away the lead that Syracuse had.

On March 24th, Syracuse was leading the Golden Snowball contest by 9.5 inches of snow. Right now that lead has slipped down to only a lead of 6.9 inches. Buffalo is just a small storm away from taking the lead over Syracuse. Could this finally be the season that Buffalo gets crowned the champions of the Golden Snowball contest? The cold air is still in the forecast so anything can happen and there is still a lot of time left whether we like it or not 😉

Because of the way the season started with that big lake effect snow event that happened early in the season but missed the Buffalo airport I have to say that I am almost pulling for Buffalo to win this season. OK, reality just set in and of course being from Syracuse that thought just passed by. Go ‘Cuse 😉

Rochester has always been a city that I have a hard time counting out no matter how late in the season it is and how far behind they are. Remember that since the Golden Snowball contest was started up again after a long break, Rochester has been the only city to dethrone Syracuse. Of course. that season was a pretty weird one with all of the cities being wayyyy below their normal seasonal averages.

Speaking of averages Syracuse is about to fall behind their normal snowfall totals to date unless they pick up some snow today. As of yesterday’s snow stats Syracuse is dead on what the normal snowfall to date should be for this time in the season. The normal snowfall to date is 119.1 and right now Syracuse is at 119.1 for this season. Both the National snow contest and the NY Golden Snowball contest tend to be close if Syracuse is close or below their normal snowfall. That’s good news for both Buffalo and Rochester 🙂

The National Snow Contest – All 3 of the CNY/Western cities which are Syracuse, Buffalo and Rochester are doing pretty good in the National Snow Contest. Syracuse had the lead but just got knocked down a notch from a city from Massachusetts. Click here for the National Snow Contest, The Golden Snow Globe!

Stay Tuned because this seasons snow race isn’t even close to being over yet, like it or not. Have a Super, Awesome Day Everyone 🙂

Current Odds for The Golden Snowball Snow Contest

Posted by The Snowman on March 24, 2015
Posted in: Golden Snowball. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

First off as always I want to give a Big Thanks to Edwin T. for your recent donation to the site. I know I say this over and over again, but it really does help me out a lot. Thank You for taking the time Edwin, I truly appreciate it 🙂

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OK, hold off on the betting this is all just for fun. The next couple of days look like it will be kind of quiet for most of the cities so as the snow season is winding down let’s lay some odds for which city will win the 2014-2015 Golden Snowball Contest. Hours of research and handicapping went into laying out the odds so I would take them very seriously when betting with your family and friends. OK, no thinking at all went into the odds and it’s all just for fun 😉

Mother Nature is the only one that knows how much snow lies ahead for all of the Golden Snowball cities, but I feel pretty confident in saying that Albany and probably Binghamton are out of the running now. I know that the NY area still gets snow in April and even sometimes into May, but I don’t see Binghamton making up 30+ inches and I definitely can’t see Albany getting 40+ more inches of snow this season.

I think Rochester still has a shot but only if they start melting away some of Syracuse’s and Buffalo’s snow this week. You may also want to talk to the Snow God 😉 Buffalo still has a decent shot, but the good folks in Buffalo may want to do a snow dance or two 😉 OK, enough already and here are what I believe the odds are as of today, March 24th.

Syracuse – Current Odds — 2 to 1
Buffalo — Current Odds — 4 to 1
Rochester – Current Odds 15 to 1
Binghamton – Current Odds 50 to 1
Albany – Current Odds — Scratched

All in fun and it will be interesting to see if the odds change in the coming weeks ahead. Have an Awesome Day Everyone 🙂