Worst 10 Years For Snow In Western New York

Many people anticipated snow this year on Halloween, and the fluffy snowflakes continued throughout the trick-or-treat peak times in Western New York. 

You know what that means though….

Now that we received our first snowfall of the season, it won’t be going anywhere soon. In fact, we may be dealing with the snow until April or May. That’s about 6 months from now! 

Hopefully you have your snowbrush in the car and your emergency blanket in your car just in case of emergencies. If not, consider this a friendly reminder!

While we always expect snow in Western New York, at least it may not be the worst we have seen. There have been plenty of winters that have brought in an alarming, unmanageable amount of snow. 

The National Weather Service records snow data every year, from July to June of the following year, and while we have never hit 200 inches of snow so far in a given year, we have definitely come close. 

See the worst years for snowfall ranked in Western New York below. 

According to the National Weather Service, it looks like the worst year for snowfall was the year of 1976-77. If you grew up in the ‘70s, you may remember that year well. In the month of January 1977, Buffalo had accumulated 68.3 inches of snow, and the Blizzard of ‘77 was calculated into that year’s total. 

By the end of June 1977, the total snow that had fallen for that year was 199.4, the most snow we have ever seen since the National Weather Service began collecting data in 1940. 

You can see all the snow totals for every year in Buffalo when you click here.  

Will There Be A Lot Of Snow This Year?

According to the 2024 Old Farmer’s Almanac, there will be snow and seasonable cold.

“Snowfall will be above normal across most snow-prone areas,” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. “Keep a shovel at the ready early, especially in the Northeast and Midwest, where snow will arrive beginning in November with storms, showers, and flurries continuing through the start of spring.”

Thankfully we live in a place like Western New York, where we always help each other out, but especially this time of year.