http://www.democratandchronicle.com/news/0506AA45HF1_news.shtml

(May 6, 2004) — SYRACUSE — Winning has a way of snowballing,
especially in the city of Syracuse, which once again is claiming title
as the snowiest big city in upstate New York.

According to the National Weather Service, Syracuse received 181.3
inches of snow this winter — almost five feet more than runner-up
Rochester’s 125.6 inches — to win the Golden Snowball trophy for a
second consecutive year.

Binghamton came in third with 106.4 inches, while Buffalo ended up with
100.9 inches. Albany had 65.1 inches.

”It’s been known to snow in upstate New York even after
Mother’s Day, but I think it’s safe to say no one is going to
catch Syracuse this year,” said Steve McLaughlin, a meteorologist
with the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

Regarded as America’s snowiest city with more than 100,000 residents,
Syracuse averages 115.3 inches a year. Outside Alaska, the National
Weather Service lists Blue Canyon, Calif., as the nation’s snowiest
city, with 240.3 inches.

The snowiest winter ever in Syracuse was in 1992-93, when the city
received 192.1 inches of snow. Buffalo holds the all-time upstate record
for a big city with 199.4 inches in 1976-77.

The snowfall totals for Syracuse, Buffalo and Rochester are inflated by
the squalls that blow ashore off the Great Lakes. Bands of lake effect
snow rarely reach as far southeast as Binghamton or as far east as
Albany.

The Golden Snowball Award was started in the late 1970s by Peter
Chaston, a former National Weather Service meteorologist in Rochester.
It petered out in the mid-1990s, then was revived last year by
McLaughlin and his co-workers in Buffalo.

peace,

-*-
Charles M. Kozierok )
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