May Snowstorms Are Not Unusual In New York

How unusual are May storm storms or blizzards in New York State? They are actually not that uncommon unfortunately.

With the news of a snowstorm Mother's Day weekend across Central New York spreading, it gets you thinking about past snowfall events. Snow in May in New York is not uncommon. Snow has fallen in Syracuse on just four Mother’s Days since the holiday began in 1914.

The Weather Channel reminds us of many May Snowstorms for New York:

May 7th 1989

On May 7, 1989, 7.9 inches of snow fell in Buffalo. This doesn't seem like much for Upstate New York standards, but it did shatter an 80-year-old record. It was the greatest 24-hour May snowfall, as well as the greatest amount of snow so late in the season.

May 12th 1996

NewYorkUpstate reports that Syracuse got 2.1 inches of snow. This was enough snow for Syracuse University to delay its commencement that day.

Higher amounts of snow fell that day on hilltops. Tully had 5.1 inches, the most in New York state. Parts of Tug Hill got just under 5 inches. An inch fell in Rochester; Buffalo got a trace."

May 18, 2002

After hitting 91 degrees back on April 17th 2002, Albany had its latest snowfall on record. 2 inches of snow dusted New York's capital.

Most Memorable May Snowstorm

The Weather Channel reports that the most memorable May snowstorm was May 9th - 10th of 1977. More than 11.4 inches of snow fell in Worcester, Massachusetts, and up to 20 inches was reported in Norfolk, Connecticut.

"In all the years of record keeping – which, in some cases, go back the 1870s – there are no other May storms which come remotely close to what occurred back in 1977," noted Boston.com’s Dave Epstein. Power was knocked out to more than a half-million customers."

So moral of the story, it can snow in May.