Buffalo Loses Annual Award It Really Didn’t Want To Win Anyway

How quickly things can change, especially on the weather front. It was just a few months ago when the annual competition between cities in the Empire State for who gets the most snow in a winter season got underway.

Because New York State is known around the world for the snow we get year after year, it should come as no surprise that the different regions have a friendly wager between them. From the pristine winter peaks of Lake Placid to the snowy-covered streets of Buffalo, measuring the white stuff with a yardstick is quite normal for us, and handling it is what we do quite well.

That is where the annual Golden Snowball contest comes into play. 5 Empire State Cities go head-to-head, and the award trophy is given to the city that has the most snowfall in any given winter weather season.

This contest is as famous as it is infamous, as the winner has to deal with the thing none of us are truly ready for: lots of snow. And, after a tough and cold winter, once you look at the data from the National Weather Service for Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, it looks like we have a clear winner for 2026.

While winter doesn't officially end until March 20, 2026, geological winter is now over, and there has been pretty much the end of any significant snowfall until the 2026/27 winter season begins.

With all the snow totally up, it looks like Syracuse, the winner of the 2024/25 award, is repeating as champion this year. As of March 9th, an eye-popping 134.6 inches of snow has fallen. Rochester comes in second place with 107.9 inches, and Buffalo is in a distant third place with 88.3 inches.

Now that we're pretty much at the end of winter and snow is melting all over the state, I think I speak for everyone in Buffalo in saying congratulations, Syracuse, you have won an award we really didn't want to win this year. So thank you for taking the brunt of this winter snow, and we'll see you again next year.