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Best County to live in NY state for SNOW


sferic

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Hi,

 

I live both in Nassau County on Long Island and on vacation in Liberty NY in the Catskills.

 

I now have the opportunity to move, actually selling my Long Island home (Liberty NY home too small to live in full time).

 

My question is this: Where would be the best county in NY Starte to live in to meet the following:

 

1) Elevation (when it matters in snow vs rain)

 

2) Earliest and latest snowfall possible.

 

3) Does well with Lake Effect Snows

 

4) Does well with NorEasters.

 

5) Huge seasonal snowfall averages.

 

If any county meets 4 out of the 5 that's where I'll move to.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

 

jeff

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In general, I don't think the favored areas for lake effect snow do well in Noreasters.  The Lake Ontario shoreline usually does the best in those events, but they don't have anywhere near the annual snow totals of Lewis/Oswego or Chautauqua/Cattaraugus counties.  My mother lives in Mayville.  It's an adorable little town on Lake Chautauqua on the Chautauqua Ridge.  Very close to the Chautauqua Institute, which is a great place to visit.

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Heaviest snowfall annually in NY State is east of Lake Ontario & Watertown in the Adirondacks.  Mt Marcy, the highest point in the state, has an elevation above 5000'.  Towns such as Old Forge are among the snowiest.  Snow is of the lake effect & synoptic variety.  Annual snowfall  maxes out around 180 inches, though, obviously, some local spots average even more.

 

Chautauqua County & Cattaraugus County (south of Buffalo) are the secondary maximum for snowfall in NY state.  Most of the snow there is of the lake effect variety.  Seasonal average approaches 150 inches with the maximum centered around a little town called New Albion. 

 

These are some of the snowiest locations east of the Rocky Mountains; rivaled only by the U.P. of Michigan and the mountains of northern New England.

 

The worst counties for snow (in case anyone did not already know) would be the 5 boroughs of New York City, Nassau & Suffolk counties.  Westchester would probably be 8th on the list & Rockland 9th. 

 

There is also a secondary minimum north of Buffalo & Niagara Falls where annual snowfall is only around 40 inches.  This spot consistently misses most lake effect snow. 

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Hi,

 

I live both in Nassau County on Long Island and on vacation in Liberty NY in the Catskills.

 

I now have the opportunity to move, actually selling my Long Island home (Liberty NY home too small to live in full time).

 

My question is this: Where would be the best county in NY Starte to live in to meet the following:

 

1) Elevation (when it matters in snow vs rain)

 

2) Earliest and latest snowfall possible.

 

3) Does well with Lake Effect Snows

 

4) Does well with NorEasters.

 

5) Huge seasonal snowfall averages.

 

If any county meets 4 out of the 5 that's where I'll move to.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

 

jeff

You better love seeing snowbanks to 35 feet for five to six months constant, and not get sick of it.  Bare trees till mid to late May, do you really want that ?  Belly button high snow for what its worth. Long Island is just fine to me, and glad we do not usually see wire to wire snowpack for 5 months, that would get on my nerves and old eventually.  NEMO or the 2/8/13 blizzard was enough for me last year.

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I'd look into the northwestern Catskills. They tend to get the best of all worlds with good hits from nor'easters and the occasional lake effect dump when the right conditions allow for those mega bands/streamers.  Definitely better year-round weather, too, as they don't have as much of that depressing overcast that lingers throughout most of the year like the more immediate lake areas.

 

My favorite region, the Adirondacks, can be a little snow starved at times, but with a little elevation you are approaching near sub-arctic climo.

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Heaviest snowfall annually in NY State is east of Lake Ontario & Watertown in the Adirondacks.  Mt Marcy, the highest point in the state, has an elevation above 5000'.  Towns such as Old Forge are among the snowiest.  Snow is of the lake effect & synoptic variety.  Annual snowfall  maxes out around 180 inches, though, obviously, some local spots average even more.

 

Chautauqua County & Cattaraugus County (south of Buffalo) are the secondary maximum for snowfall in NY state.  Most of the snow there is of the lake effect variety.  Seasonal average approaches 150 inches with the maximum centered around a little town called New Albion. 

 

These are some of the snowiest locations east of the Rocky Mountains; rivaled only by the U.P. of Michigan and the mountains of northern New England.

 

The worst counties for snow (in case anyone did not already know) would be the 5 boroughs of New York City, Nassau & Suffolk counties.  Westchester would probably be 8th on the list & Rockland 9th. 

 

There is also a secondary minimum north of Buffalo & Niagara Falls where annual snowfall is only around 40 inches.  This spot consistently misses most lake effect snow. 

Thank you for the wonderful write up William.

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You're very welcome :)

It's west of the Adirondacks in the Tug Hill Plateau where seasonal snowfall is highest, near 250" at the highest elevations which approach 2000'. I'd say the Tug averages a lot more than the Adirondacks, which have a circular shape geographically that discourages large amounts of upslope. The Adirondacks are pretty dry.

I think most of Delaware County averages 70-75" unless you're right along the Delaware River. Averages there are more like 60". My parents have a place in Lake Como that's at 1500' and probably gets around 70" per year. Snow retention is excellent. Big difference between Lake Como at 1550' and Hancock or Honesdale PA down in the valley.

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It's west of the Adirondacks in the Tug Hill Plateau where seasonal snowfall is highest, near 250" at the highest elevations which approach 2000'. I'd say the Tug averages a lot more than the Adirondacks, which have a circular shape geographically that discourages large amounts of upslope. The Adirondacks are pretty dry.

I think most of Delaware County averages 70-75" unless you're right along the Delaware River. Averages there are more like 60". My parents have a place in Lake Como that's at 1500' and probably gets around 70" per year. Snow retention is excellent. Big difference between Lake Como at 1550' and Hancock or Honesdale PA down in the valley.

Wrt the dacks i would agree

White face is best suited for upslope , and @4500' is prolly pretty solid for 175 + but thats not inhabitable. For the big numbers tug hill is king and further west areas (under lake effect gun w/o (tug elevation are second) . U need alot from lake effect to be "very" snowy in NY.

I would add some places in dacks around 2k get 100" and have great retention. Further N in elevated valley saranac lake sees 115-120 and has great retention too.

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I have a place in central Delaware County, a little over 2000 ft.  We average just about 100 inches a year.  The lake effect, overall, is pretty minor; however, it can lightly snow (being at the end of the streamers) for days on end over a long lasting snow pack. There have been a few severe lake events with whiteouts, several inches, but nothing like the Tug, etc. We do very well in noreasters, and have had great elevation dependent jackpots, particularly in October and April.  We've had dustings of snow in May several times--last year I saw some rouge flakes Memorial Day weekend.  It's also a beautiful place to live that is under 3 hours from the GWB. 

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