Saturday, 31 January 2026 / Published in Weather

February 2026 Outlook

This blog is brought to you by the Hamden Hill Ridge Riders of Delaware County, NY! This tiny hamlet south of Oneonta, NY helps to maintain over 70 miles of trails across Delaware County. In this county, a total of 350 miles of trails exist. Thank you to all of the folks whom make this effort possible. For more information CLICK HERE.

We apologize…

We know the last several days in Upstate NY have gone AMAZINGLY. We know because overnights we have heard nothing but below zero temperatures EVERYWHERE. Not since at least 2018 or 2015 have we heard this much on the below zero end.

On the snowmobile end, another month, another near to just missing a Top 10 month. Again. Got November. Just missed December by an inch. We missed January by a few inches. With the exception of a three day hard and organized melt off the week before Christmas, and the first week of January having a lot of Upstate NY waiting for rideable snow.

Until it got very cold in the middle of the month. And until our big Nor’easter, the biggest since 2022, came slamming the entire region on the 25th and the 26th brought the snowfall above normal for the third consecutive month. In Rome, NY, the seasonal average was exceeded in the last few days. Every inch that falls the rest of the season is ABOVE NORMAL!

Besides Syracuse being ahead on the Golden Snowball Award for 2025-26, the rest of the state is doing well. A vast majority of the 10,000 miles of NYSSA Snowmobile Trails are OPEN. Based on what I am seeing now, how much longer do I think this will go? We know it will end, someday. Even in 1993, 2004 and 2015, SPRING DID COME THAT YEAR. So did #summersucks. They are always around just like winter is. But from my eyes: ALL IS LOOKING IN OUR FAVOR!

In the short term, we break out of the deep freeze for a time. The bitter cold that has been crushing Upstate NY will loosen its grip and let some not so bone chilling air in as February begins. Who knows what the Groundhog says? All I know is our Groundhog say’s 6 MORE WEEKS OF SNOWMOBILE RIDING! At least 🙂

In the medium range, expectations are high we shall slide back into the dead of winter. Six months from now, it would be hurricane season. Mosquito season. And #summersucks season. Here we are at the pinnacle of the winter season. The ice pack is in and deep, especially in the Adirondacks. It is looking clear and with smooth sailing!

Going into the long range looking towards President’s Day Week, the week kids are off from school, we are looking at the continuation of below normal temperatures. That is huge. Not every winter gets this with a vast majority of the cold season including the holidays COLD. We enjoy the fact that you are enjoying that too.

So one FINAL thins about this WINTER. I didn’t think about it or notice it until now. But now I do. There are two strains of years. One runs every eight years. The other, three. This is most of the time, not all of the time. However, when I have run across it, following these solutions tends to run in my favor. The 11 year run. This run is off of the 2015 winter in which February was the coldest in HISTORY. 2026, 2015, 2004, 1993, 1982, 1971, 1960, 1949, 1938, 1927, 1916, 1905, 1894. The other line was a little more broken but still good. 2018, 2007, 1996, 1985, 1974, 1963, 1952, 1941, 1930, 1919, 1908, 1897. Give or take a year or two either side. But two events over the last 11 years really mark our time. We had 2018. Now we have this year. It will be interesting to see where we are led next.

DOWNLOAD THE 2026 NYSSA SNOWMOBILE INTERACTIVE MAP! It has on it and available which trails are open, closed, and major hazards that are out there, where and when. It is a great gift for you to download to your iPhone or Android TODAY!