January was an active weather month with record heat, two damaging wind storms, and plenty of North Country lake-effect snow. At month's end, several feet of snow covered the ground east of Lake Ontario. The ground was bare here in Syracuse. Temperatures climbed into the mid 60s on January 7 and then up to a record smashing 70-degrees on January 8. The 70-degree high matched the Syracuse record for warmest ever January temperature. During the January 4 - 11 period a total of 200 record highs were set across 33 of our United States. The average temperature for the month was 29.5 degrees, nearly 7 degrees milder than normal. There were also two, rare January tornado outbreaks. Locally, the warmth came to an abrupt end on January 9 as a powerful cold front plowed across the region. The cold front produced a 59 mph wind gust here in Syracuse. Wind gusts reached 75 mph in Rochester and 79 mph at Fort Drum in Jefferson County. At the height of the wind storm 125,000 people were left in the dark. A roof was blown off a building in Watertown. A cable busted on the nearside 1000 Islands Bridge. A major league lake snow event hammered Oswego and northern Oneida Counties form January 18 through January 20. Fulton picked up 37", Mexico 36", Oswego 34", and Pulaski 30". The snow-laden, public works garage in Fulton collapsed under the heavy weight of the snow. A second batch of lake snow hammered northern Oswego and southern Jefferson Counties on January 23. Redfield picked up 7" of snow in only 1 1/2 hours. The month wrapped up with a second major wind storm on January 30. A peak wind of 51 mph was measured here in Syracuse. Lockport (Niagara County) experienced an 81 mph gust. A record storm surge was measured over eastern Lake Erie with the lake rising 9 1/2 feet in only three hours! Here in Syracuse, 1.36" of rain and melted snow were recorded, about half of the typical January total.
Records for the month: Record high of 64 on January 7. Record high of 70 on January 8.
February, 2008
February was a fairly quiet month. A pair of lake-effect snow events hammered areas to the east of Lake Ontario. The first event on February 10 and 11 produced 22 inches of snow in Oswego. A bigger pounding on February 19 and 20 produced a whopping 49-inch snow total in Pulaski. Two synoptic storms affected the area but snowfall amounts were considerably less than forecast. The monthly snowfall was 30.5 inches pushing the season's tally to 97.2 inches. The greatest snow depth of nine inches was measured on February 16. The rain and melted snow total was 5.4 inches (+2.60"). Nearly all of our storms during this La Nina winter featured sleet and/or freezing rain along with some snow. The main storm track was on a line from Detroit to Ottawa with most of the heaviest snow and cold air remaining to our northwest. The average monthly temperature was 25.7 degrees, about 1 degree milder than normal. Temperatures ranged from 55 on February 18 to -4 on February 29. This meteorological winter will be remembered for producing anecdotal evidence that global warming may not be occurring as fast as is commonly believed. There was more snow on the ground over North America on the whole at the end of February than at any time since 1966. China experienced their coldest winter in 100 years. Snow fell in Baghdad for the first time in modern history.
Records for the month: None
March, 2008
March was a cold, windy, and soggy month. A total of 13.8 inches of snow fell, pushing the season's total to 110 inches. Ski areas had steady business throughout the month despite the frequent rain. A salt and sand mix was poured on to area roads to combat the icy conditions. Road crews had to resort to the salt and sand mix due to an inexplicable scarcity of road salt. Temperatures for the month ranged from 59 degrees on March 3 to 13 degrees on March 30, a reversal of what we would normally expect. The average monthly temperature of 31.6 degrees was 2 degrees colder than normal. The wind theme continued during March with wind gusts of greater than 20 mph recorded on 17 of 31 days. There was no severe weather or any major snow reported.
Records for the month: None.
April, 2008
April 2008 hit the record books as one of Central New York's best months of April ever. The average temperature for the month was 51.6 degrees, more than six degrees warmer than normal! We had seven straight days of 70+ temperatures from April 17 through April 23 with 93 percent of possible sunshine. Temperatures of 70 or higher were measured on 10 of 30 April days altogether. A record high of 87 was recorded on April 19. April 2008 was Syracuse's third warmest on record and may have challenged the record had it not been for a significant late-month cooldown. The cooldown was accompanied by nearly two-inches of much-needed rain. Brush fires were a major theme. Rare Red Flag Warnings were issued for some areas due to the extremely high brush fire threat. Cayuga County officials banned all outdoor fires after a major brush burned for four hours in Ledyard. Sixty firefighters from ten departments had to be called in to battle the blaze. April 2008 was an extremely sunny month and that sun shined on the Chiefs as they won eight straight games. The team opened up on a 56-degree day with 6,465 in attendance. That was the largest opening day crowd since 2002. The largest-ever home opening crowd of 12,112 was for the grand opening of Alliance Bank Stadium back in 1997. Rainfall for the month measured 2.98 inches (-.41). The first widespread lawn cut took place on April 22. Note: Warmest months of April here in CNY: 1. 1921 -53.0; 2. 1987 - 51.9; 3. 2008 - 51.6.
Records for the month: Record high temperature of 87 on April 19.
May, 2008
After near-record warmth in April, cool weather returned to Central New York during May. Afternoon highs hovered only near 50-degrees through the middle of the month. Those temperatures are more typical of early November. Frost was reported in the colder locations on May 28 and May 29. The cool weather finally broke just ahead of the long Memorial Day holiday weekend. The average temperature for the month was 53.7 degrees or about 3.5 degrees cooler than normal. Conditions were fairly quiet for most regions. Rainfall was a bit more than half of normal with only 1.78 inches of rain measured. A notable exception to the quiet weather was the Camden area of Oneida County. On May 17, a cold-core water spout moved inland from Oneida Lake spawning a minimal tornado. The tornado produced 75 mph winds and caused some damage along the west branch of Fish Creek, about a half mile northwest of Camden. The tornado was 250 yards wide and cut a path about a half mile long. The tornado damaged three homes and knocked down a barn. No injuries were reported. The Syracuse final seasonal snow tally was 109.1 inches.
Records for the month: None
June, 2008
June 2008 will go into the record books as a fairly wild month with two record highs, one quick-hitting deluge, and two rounds of severe weather. The season's first round of intense heat arrived on Friday June 6 with readings climbing to 92-degrees. Several folks were overcome by the heat at the annual "Taste of Syracuse" event in downown Syracuse. A torrential downpour produced a quick inch of rain. The heat peaked on June 9 when the temperature reached 95-degrees. The heat broke the following day as a powerful cold front raced southeast across the region. A severe thunderstorm toppled trailers on Interstate 81 betwen Pulaski and Sandy Creek that day. Unofficial wind gusts of more than 100 mph were measured over northwestern Oswego County. The storm slammed through the Syracuse area at midday reaking havoc on the opening day of the downtown Farmer's Market. Severe weather struck again on June 16 as another cold front raced through. Tornado warmings were issued as cluster of heavy hail and rain storms slammed the area. Orchards were hard hit across Central and Western New York. An estimated 50 - 75% of the apple crop was damaged by hail in Wayne County. The average monthly temperature was 71-degrees (+2.7). The month's rain total was 2.67 inches, an inch less than normal.
Records for the month: Record high temperature (tie) of 92 on June 6. Record high temperature of 95 on June 9.
