LET ME GET THIS PART OUT OF THE WAY. IT’S NOT THAT WE NORMALLY HAVE DECENT SNOWY WEATHER AROUND HERE THIS EARLY IN THE YEAR. WE JUST HAVE NOT SEEN IT IN AWHILE. THE LATEST SNOWFALL FORECAST MAP IS ABOVE AND THE WEATHER MAP FOR TOMORROW IS BELOW:
These areas will get hit mainly between midnight tonight, Monday Night and midnight tomorrow night, Tuesday Night. This storm should be all over by Wednesday Morning before sunrise, even in the Capital Region and the Hudson Valley.
During the day on Wednesday we catch a brief break before the next area of storms comes in Wednesday Night and into Thursday with snow showers and areas of Lake Effect snow. Then Thursday Night, some parts of Upstate NY will get BELOW ZERO for the first time this season.
And all I can say is nothing will stop this weather. Not this year. Not the start of snowmobile season. Not the month of December which for most people and most years, has not been an issue. BECAUSE THERE HAS BEEN NO SNOW. FOR CRYING OUT LOUD MOST HAVE NOT HAD A WHITE CHRISTMAS THIS DECADE SO FAR! However, the odds are very high, way higher than usual, that this year is the year things turn around. We break the streak this time!!!
NOVEMBER 2025 REVIEW
We averaged 36.92 degrees F which is about 2 degrees or so BELOW NORMAL. Precipitation was 5.30″ which was significantly above normal. As for snowfall, I cannot find the latest numbers for Utica/Rome. I can do other cities! For Syracuse has a foot and a half of snow! Binghamton and Albany have a half of foot. Rochester and Buffalo have slightly more but not much. Syracuse is winning the golden snowball award race by far this year.
DECEMBER LOOKING AHEAD
With all of the snow in the forecast in the short range, medium range, and the long range, and all outlooks pointing below normal with above normal precipitation, it is time to talk about top 10s! Basically we need over 3 feet of snow to break that top 10 mark, and we need to get to 5 feet (60 inches) to break December’s all time record set in 1890. All I know is this: We are probably going to get about 6 tomorrow. More later in the week. More this weekend. We will probably break our normal snowfall in the middle of the month at the rate we are going. While that is happening, it looks like our total snowfall by the time the ball drops into 2026 will be somewhere between 50 and 75 inches! And what is there to stop this pattern after the new year rings in?
REST OF WINTER 2026
Nothing. We are in LA NADA. The weak El Nino that was over us has already lost it’s grip on us. It is GONE. If not about to be. So with all this cold and snow, and the heart of the winter ahead, WHAT CAN STOP IT? Well something can. In 1995-96, we had a humongous meltdown in the third week of January that melted 50-100 inches plus of snow in a few days. It sent massive flooding through Upstate NY. Then for about 6 weeks, mainly most of February 1996, it was a cold month but the snow was lacking. In fact I believe that was a Top 10 least snowy month. Then March came. Boy did it! That was definitely a TOP 10 snowiest March month then it lasted into April. In 2003-04, 2002-03, 1993-94, 1978-79, 1977-78 and 1970-71, in those winters THERE WAS NO LET UP! IT WAS SNOW FROM GATE TO GATE! Those 6 winters in the last 55 years I have identified as the best. I don’t have 2014-15 down. Because it warmed after the crushing November lake effect snows. Even though from late January through early March was the COLDEST IN HISTORY, it was not like that the whole winter. Just part of that winter.
BASICALLY, WE ARE DUE. THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING, RUN WITH IT. WE HAVE THE LINE ON WHAT MOTHER NATURE IS GIVING US. GO ALL IN. SO HERE WE ARE.
OFFICIAL UPSTATE SNOW 2025-2026 FORECAST
TEMPERATURE: BELOW NORMAL BY 1 TO 4 DEGREES
SNOWFALL TOTAL: 100 TO 150 INCHES (AT GRIFFISS PARK, ROME, NY)
BOTTOM LINE:
Next week you can get out and ride in the North Country and Adirondacks. DO IT! The rest of the state will open up for sledding on January 1st. Are thousands and thousand of us going to wait additional weeks we could be riding but instead it is closed for deer hunting? An extended deer hunting season? This is the first time this new extended hunting season comes crashing into a heavy snowfall and heavy snowmobile time where everyone will want to be out. And only a few hunters will be allowed on the properties across Upstate NY. I cannot imagine what will happen. Just please do your part. If you are reading this, HEAD NORTH TO WHERE TRAILS ARE OPEN. DO NOT RIDE WHERE TRAILS ARE CLOSED.
Period. That’s all I am going to say!
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Zack and Rich Lupia
Upstate Snow
December 1, 2025
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