First Alert Weather In-Depth: Snowfall so far

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — You know meteorologists love to talk about the numbers. Today, First Alert Meteorologist Glenn Johnson focused on snowfall. The last two big storms pushed the totals at the Frederick Douglass-Greater Rochester International Airport way up.

Essentially, Rochester is now on par with where it usually is at this point of the season. As of Monday, we are only an inch and a half below normal for snowfall.

What about Western New York? A National Weather Service map shows snowfall totals as of Monday are much higher the closer you live to Lake Ontario or Lake Erie, unsurprisingly.

In a given in season, on average, half of our snowfall comes from lake effect snow. From north to south across Western New York, it shows. If you travel along Route 390 from Dansville to Rochester, there is a difference of some 35 inches of snowfall this season.

The big picture all across the United States sometimes referred to as the "Golden Snowball Award", shows snowfall in cities with populations of more than 100,000 people. No surprise, Rochester is number two, just behind Buffalo. Anchorage, Alaska is at about 55 inches of snow and Syracuse is also on the list.

With all this snowfall, one thing to remember as the snow continues to fall and the piles get higher and higher is that kids love to play around those snowbanks. So remember, especially when driving, to take it slow. It is always more difficult to see the “little ones.”

No doubt we have a lot of winter still coming our way.