Record Low Snow Totals in Central New York | News Live at 6

By Ronnie Parrillo

“Syracuse, all it does is snow!” Well, not so much this year.. Syracuse, a city known for its harsh winters and heavy snowfall, has been in a slumpAccording to snowfall data collected at Syracuse-Hancock International Airport, the region has fallen short of its average snowfall total by over 50 inches this winter. In the past three seasons, snow totals have not seen the 90-inch mark, which makes the title of “snowiest city,” lose its luster.

Seasons like this have occurred before, but have not for a while. 

“When you look at weather on a year-to-year basis, it is strongly impacted by the dynamics of the atmosphere. The state of the atmosphere in the Arctic can partly determine the weather during the winter.  This year, the polar vortex was strong for much of the mid-winter, locking the colder air up in the Arctic and leading to fewer swings from warm to very cold,” Syracuse University Professor of Earth Science, Samuel Tuttle, said. 

Tuttle also said a warming Arctic can contribute to warmer winters, but the warmer temperatures we saw this year can be attributed to the polar vortex trapping the cold air far to the north of New York State. Other New York State cities to the west of Syracuse, like Rochester and Buffalo, also experienced similar winters. 

This is not to say that Syracuse hasn’t had its share of cold days, however. March 28 hit a high of only 22 degrees with a feel like temperature of 2. While three weeks earlier on March 6, temperatures soared to a record high of 77 degrees.