While we haven’t had much snow on the ground this winter until around the second week of February, we have had our fair share of accumulating snow.

So how is snow measured officially? The official measurement is typically taken hourly at the Greater Rochester International Airport. Many of us will wake up and "guestimate" a "couple inches" or take a measurement, after the snow settles due to its weight. The official measurement is often higher, due to how it is officially measured.

“Measuring Snowfall is measured to the nearest tenth of an inch. Measure the greatest amount of snowfall that has accumulated on your snowboard since the last observation. You can measure on a wooden deck or ground if a snowboard is not available. Snowfall should not be measured more than 4 times in 24 hours. You can measure the hourly snowfall rate, but do not clean off your board each hour. Only clean off the board when you take one of the four daily measurements. Once the snow ends, add up the measurements from each time the snowboard was cleaned to reach a storm total.” 

-National Weather Service

We have only had a few significant snow falls this winter. The greatest 24-hour amount occurred on November 11 with 8.7 inches. We have essentially been "nickeled and dimed" with an inch or two here, two to four there. With the lower amounts on most days, combined with many thaws that melted the snow, it certainly seems like we haven’t had much this year. 

Believe it or not, we are currently, as of February 21, running several inches above average for the season. Our current total is 81 inches of accumulation. The average through February 21 is 72.8 inches.

Throughout the rest of the winter, we expect more of the freeze, thaw pattern to continue. For you snow hounds and winter weather enthusiasts, hang in there. The second half of February and March have brought us significant snow storms, so there is still hope. For those of you who prefer warmer weather, spring is only a month away.