With the recent snowfall, I thought it’d be a good idea to go back and look at the largest single-day snowfalls in Rochester history.

What You Need To Know

  • Official snow tallies for Rochester are recorded at the airport

  • There are areas around Rochester that often receive more snowfall than the official records

  • Most of the largest 24-hour snowfalls in Rochester history have occurred in February and March

We’ve had some warm days this season, so it may have surprised some that we picked up roughly two to five inches of snow Tuesday night through Thursday morning.

It’s important to keep in mind that the official records are kept at the Greater Rochester International Airport. With that said, there are areas just east of Rochester (in Wayne County, in particular) that will receive more snow than in Rochester during a typical season.

Keep in mind three types of snowfall events that we experience in our area:

1) Lake-effect snow, which is more localized.
2) Synoptic snow, which occurs with passing low pressure system. These snows are usually widespread.
3) Lake-enhanced snow, which occurs along with a synoptic snowfall event, but the lakes add more extra, more localized snowfall.

Let’s start with a look at the stats for the top five snowiest 24-hour periods in Rochester history:

5) 18.3 inches on Feb. 16, 2018.
4) 18.4 inches on Feb. 14, 1960; Feb. 14, 1998; and March 6, 1999.
3) 22.3 inches on March 4, 1999.
2) 23.0 inches on Jan. 3, 1999.
1) 29.8 inches on March 1, 1900.

Those two dates in March 1999 are interesting for several reasons, one being that it ended as the third-snowiest March on record with 45 inches. 40.7 inches of snow fell on just those two dates.

An honorable mention is the 18 inches of snow that fell on Christmas Day in 1978.

Let's look at the highest monthly totals on record for November through May. I’m including May because there was one event in there 32 years ago that is quite remarkable.

Later in October is when the first flakes tend to first fall in our region. None of those tallies are all that impressive for Rochester. However, Buffalo and even a portion of Genesee and Orleans Counties were socked with a major lake-effect snowfall in Oct. 2006.

With it being so early in the season and leaves still on the trees, the damage was extensive in these areas. The bulk of the snow, in fact, stuck to the grass, tree branches and power lines, leading to extensive tree damage and power outages.

Snowfall amounts from the Oct. 2006 snowstorm. (National Weather Service)

The Buffalo Sabres still played a home game against the New York Rangers with a reported attendance of 18,690 fans.

Some areas near Buffalo picked up around two feet of snow. Even the three inches of heavy, wet snow recorded in Brockport resulted in tree damage and scattered power outages.

The highest monthly snow total in Rochester for November occurred in 1996 with a tally of 24.9 inches.

46.5 inches of snow fell in Dec. 2010.

Jan. 2004 saw 61.3 inches of snow.

64.8 inches fell in Feb. 1958. Interestingly, the snow season of 1958 to 1959 is the fifth-snowiest on record for Rochester with 140.6 inches.

March 1900 featured 54 inches of snow, while April 1901 saw 23.8 inches.

Now for May, if you lived here in 1989, you’ll likely remember the Mother’s Day snowstorm when 10.7 inches fell! The total for that month was 10.9 inches and is the highest on record for any May.

Snow is behind us now as we enjoy an extended period of warmer weather.