NYT: In Snowy Syracuse, a December That’s Whiter Than Usual

By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS
December 22, 2010

SYRACUSE — In some places, as the first days of winter pass, the prospect of a white Christmas is just that: a possibility, sometimes realized, sometimes not.

But in this city, hard by the Snow Belt beneath Lake Ontario, there is no need for any caveat. By this time, every year, it has snowed so heavily and so often that any more would be incomprehensible.

Syracuse has met the incomprehensible. As of Tuesday, even before winter had officially begun — at 6:38 p.m. Eastern time — 71.9 inches of snow had fallen this month, making it the city’s snowiest December ever.

There has been at least a trace of snow on all but four days so far this month. In one four-day stretch last week, 43.2 inches came down.

There are areas of New York where a modest snowfall can be a great white disruption, closing schools and airports, paralyzing businesses and erasing traffic from most streets. the rest

“We got calls from all over asking us to relay horror stories, and we said, ‘We don’t have any; everything’s fine in Syracuse,’ ” Mayor Stephanie A. Miner said. “I suppose if we’d had a tornado warning or a hurricane warning, we’d be at a standstill. But we’ve been dealing with this for a long time.”

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Having lived here all my life, I know we do handle the snow very well, but it is frustrating at times when you have to get somewhere or when events have to be cancelled.  The reporter in this video (December 16th) taped this within 5 miles of my house.  It's going to be a long winter, even by our standards. -PD