On New Year's Day, the Syracuse area was on pace for one of its least snowy winters. Five days later, Syracuse was on pace for one of its snowiest winters ever! The 30-inches of snow that buried much of Central New York wasn't really the typical January blitz that the area is well known for, more a prolonged, light to moderate snow event that lasted from January 2nd through the 6th. Fortunately the snow was very dry and easy to shovel. Amazingly, the liquid equivalent of rain for the 30 inches of snow was only one-tenth of an inch! The sharp contrast in weather conditions from our fairly tame December was still a bit shocking.
A total of 46 inches of snow fell during January pushing the season's total to 69 inches. The big early-month snow helped push Syracuse back into the lead for the "Golden Snowball" award, the increasingly well-known prize awarded to the upstate city accumulating the most snow during the winter season. The big snows caused a bit of a panic in Cicero. The town had to make an emergency purchase of 4,000 tons of road salt to cover a fast-growing deficit.
January was a cloudy month with near-normal temperatures; this despite three nights with below zero readings. The average monthly temperature was 23 degrees. Temperatures ranged from 57 to -9. January was rather dry with only 1.27 inches of rain and melted snow recorded, about half of normal.
February, 2010
On February 11, the city of Baltimore, Maryland surpassed mighty Syracuse, New York for seasonal snowfall with a whopping 80-inches recorded. The two massive storms that clobbered the mid-Atlantic States in early February set the trend for another "El Nino" weather month with the main storm track still running from Texas northeast across Virginia to the Atlantic Ocean. In the wake of the storms, Baltimore had amassed 31 inches of snow on the ground.
The Syracuse area largely missed out on both storms but we did regain our overall position as the northeast's snowiest city on February 25 and 26 when a wet, heavy 19 inches of snow fell here. Many schools were closed but with high temperatures in the upper 30s and an increasing sun angle, the roads were never really that bad. That said, snow fell on all but one February day. We picked up 38 inches of snow for the month pushing the season's tally to 106 inches. The rain and melted snow for February was just about normal with 2 inches recorded.
Temperatures were fairly mild with an average reading of 26 degrees (+1.4). Temperatures reached 40 twice and only dropped to 8 twice. One of the things this winter will be remembered for by this weather watcher is the fact that it never really got super cold for any length of time anywhere across the country. Yes, there was quite a bit of snow but the super cold was absent. Temperatures remained colder than normal across the whole of Europe from November through February but even there, the super cold was absent.
Here are a couple of oddities from February. Snow was reported to have fallen in 49 of 50 United States on February 11. The only state where it didn't snow was Hawaii. The AccuWeather forecast team in State College, Pennsylvania came under some fire (again) for overhyping the late-February snowstorm, warning of a "snowicane".
There seemed to big shift in the national and worldwide viewpoint on climate change and subsequent global warming. During the latest round of climate discussions in Copenhagen, Denmark this past December, some of the weather data from a couple of scientists had apparantly been enhanced to give the view that global warming was a bit more imminent than otherwise thought. Thanks to the leaks and the intense media coverage surrounding them, a sea change of public opinion took hold worldwide with and an almost instant and complete distrust of any new figures coming from any research groups. It was simply amazing to me to witness this big change. It seems to me that this "Climategate" was overblown a bit in the media and that now we have to find our way back to a more centered and open view.
March, 2010
On March 1, fourteen inches of hard-packed snow covered the ground here in Syracuse. By March 13 the snow was all gone courtesy of an eight-day stretch that featured abundant sunshine and afternoon highs in the 50s and the 60s. Readings peaked at 66 on March 18. The average nightime low for the month hovered at the freezing mark with temperatures on the whole averaging 41 degrees, more than 7 degrees warmer than usual. Readings were at or above normal on 29 of 31 March days. The warm weather led to a rather abrupt and costly end to the maple harvest season as area maple trees began to bud weeks ahead of schedule.
A powerful storm rocked the whole of the northeast on Saturday March 13 with wind gusts reaching 52 mph here. Connecticut was one of the hardest hit states with heavy rain and strong winds combining to fell many trees and power lines. The rain was much lighter here. Air travel was disrupted but only minimum of wind damage was reported.
March was slightly drier than normal with 2.5 inches of rain measured. Most of that rain fell as part of a second storm on March 22 and March 23. Only a trace of snow fell here in Syracuse during the month leaving the season's snow total at 106 inches. The snow was gone entirely from the Tug Hill region by March 22, very early by their hefty standards.
A big freeze in Florida earlier in the season led to a shortage of tomatoes here in Central New York during March. Nearly 70% of the tomato crop was damaged during the January 11 and 12 freeze. Locally, cusomers at some area fast-food spots had to ask for tomatoes if they wanted them. Tomato prices more than doubled in the supermarkets.
April, 2010
April was another warm and dry month for Central New York! Fishermen were delighted with 70-degree temperatures for the April 1 trout season opener. Three record highs were set during April with readings climbing to an amazing 87 degrees on both April 2 and 3. The third record high of 84 degrees was set on April 8, just as the Syracuse Chiefs were taking the field for their 50th home opener. It was a beautiful day for baseball.
Apple and other fruit trees began to blossom two to three weeks ahead of schedule. The same with our lawns. I recorded an earliest-ever first grass cut on April 9, a full ten days earlier than usual. Nighttime lows dropped below freezing on April 23 and there was some minor damage reported by a few area fruit growers.
The average temperature for April was 51.6, nearly 7 degrees warmer than normal. April was very dry with less than an inch of rain recorded. We typically pick up three inches of rain and melted snow during April. No snow fell leaving the season's snow total at 106 inches.
The weather was a little tough for the April 17 and 18 Earth Day, county-wide trash pick up. Despite the rain, more than 50,000 pounds of roadside and residential debris were cleared. A total of 750 tires were counted as part of the haul.
A longtime world weather record was finally rewritten during April. A winter storm back in 1934 produced a 231 mph wind gust at Mount Washington, New Hampshire. It took 14 years to verify but the new world wind mark is now 254 mph. This wind gust was recorded as part of Tropical Cyclone Olivia in northwestern Australia back in April 1996. I'm not sure what the hold up was for final verification but 254 mph is now the new worldwide record for wind speed. Tornado gusts are not counted.
Records for the month:
Record high temperature of 87 degrees set on April 2
Record high temperature of 87 degrees set on April 3
Record high temperature of 84 degrees set on April 8
May, 2010
May 2010 was a month of strong contrast here in Central New York with a Mother's Day snow event wedged in between days of near-record and record heat.
Temperature and humidity levels were so high during the May 2 Mountian Goat Race that 10 participants needed hospitalization. The ten-mile run over the hills of Syracuse was too much for many other runners with 60 of them needing assistance at a makeshift treatment center at Clinton Square.
The weather during the Mother's Day weekend represented some of the worst May weather here in more than 15 years. Wind gusts of nearly 40 mph combined with the cold temperatures to produce sharp wind chills. Snow fell on Mother's Day with a solid trace recorded here in Syracuse. The snow was more significant over the higher elevations to the south and southeast of the city. Morrisville measured 2.4 inches of snow. To the north, 4 inches of snow fell in Redfield. The opening weekend for the regional racing schedule was a bust. Gardeners and farmers were on edge with readings briefly dropping below freezing.
Temperatures warmed late in the month with the first 90-degree reading of the new season reported on May 26. That was a record. Readings climbed to 92 degrees on Memorial Day, May 31, matching the previous record high for that day. Temperatures for the month averaged 61 degrees, 4 degrees warmer than normal. May was a bit drier than normal with less than 3 inches of rain measured.
Records for the month:
Record high temperature of 90 degrees set on May 26
Record high temperature (tie) of 92 degrees matched on May 31
June, 2010
June 2010 hit the books as a very soggy month here in Central New York with nearly 7 inches of rain measured. Rain fell on 20 of 30 June days. The rain bursts were beginning to cause worries for area farmers and gardeners with another season of blight the main concern.
Wind speeds of 80 mph were measured in Chittenango on Sunday June 6 with some building damage reported. Most of the Ozfest activities were cancelled for the day with many of the vendor tents smashed by the morning gusts. A wind gust of 54 mph was recorded here in Syracuse on June 19 as a sharp cold front raced east across the region.
Severe weather struck again on June 28 with tornado warnings issued for parts of Cayuga, Cortland, Oswego, and Tompkins Counties. Hardest hit in Oswego County was the Town of Palermo. The heavy rain associated with the storms led to flood warnings along the Mohawk and Salmon Rivers.
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake rocked much of eastern Canada and the northeastern United States on Wednesday June 23. The 1:41 pm quake was centered near Ottawa and was felt from Detroit, Michigan to Burlington, Vermont. No significant damage was reported here in Central New York but nerves were certainly frayed. The last quake felt here occurred on April 20 2002 when 4.5 magnitude temblor rumbled the Ausable Chasm region of northeastern New York.
Temperatures for the month were a bit warmer than usual with an average monthly reading of 67 degrees. Readings ranged from 47 degrees on June 9 to 89 degrees on June 19.
July, 2010
The Syracuse area experienced one of its longest ever runs of consistently warm weather during July. Afternoon highs reached 80 or higher on 22 consecutive days before some cooler air returned at month's end. Air conditioners hummed for much of the month. Temperatures for July averaged 74.5 degrees, nearly 4 degrees warmer than normal.
Readings reached 90 or higher on 7 days during the month pushing the season's total to 9. 90-degree temperatures were felt on 5 consecutive days from July 5 through July 9. A record amount of energy was used regionally on July 6 as temperatures soared to 94. Three deaths were attributed to the heat here in Onondaga County during the five-day span. Heat-related emergency calls were some 25% higher than usual during the month. The only real good news with the heat was the early arrival of the sweet corn crop.
Rainfall for the month was a little higher than usual with 4.28" of rain measured. More than 3" of that rain fell in two major deluges on July 23 and July 24.
We were certainly not alone with the hot temperatures. The most amazing heat during July was centered over Moscow and adjacent areas of European Russia. July was the hottest month on record there with an all-time high of 100 degrees recorded in Moscow on July 29. The heatwave combined with the worst drought in more than a century to produce hundreds of fires. A scarcity of air-conditioning, especially in residential areas, pushed many outdoors to find other ways to cool down. More than 2,000 people drowned in Russia during June and July with 71 drownings reported in a single day!
Records for the month: Record high temperature (tie) of 94 on July 6.
August, 2010
August was another warm month for Central New York with an average temperature of 71.4 degrees or about two degrees warmer than normal. The warm summer season was Syracuse's 6th warmest on record. The consistent warmth led to an early start to the fall fruit harvest with apples and grapes 10 days to two weeks ahead of schedule. The warmth also seemed to be leading to an early start to the fall foliage season with 40% color change already being reported at month's end to the east of Lake Ontario in northern Oswego and Jefferson Counties.
The highlight for August was the record 4.21 inches of rain that fell here on August 22. That was the greatest amount of rain here in Syracuse on any August day since record keeping began in 1902. It was our 4th rainiest day of all time. Numerous basements and roofs leaked but no significant flooding occurred on area streams and rivers as the water table had been quite low leading up to the event. The record one-day rainfall for Syrauce is still 4.79 inches, recorded back on June 11 1922.
Temperatures here in Syracuse ranged from 90 to 54 with the season's 90-degree day total climbing to 11. The monthly rainfall was 6.36 inches, about three inches more than normal. A number of area beaches were closed due to high bacteria levels. It was one of my toughest summer's with the home swimming pool. Algae growth was as fast as I have ever seen in despite my best efforts.
The Climate Prediction Center is still indicating unusual warmth for Central New York through November before a return to more seasonable temperatures in December. Precipitation toatals are expected to be near normal through December.
Records for the month: Rainiest August Day - August 22 4.21 inches. (4th rainiest day of all time).
