Buffalo’s lack of snow has landed us in the record books. The National Weather Service reports, as of midnight, the area has broken the record for the latest measurable snowfall.
Weather Service Meteorologist Bill Hibbert says the previous record was set in 1899, when downtown Buffalo didn't see a measurable snowfall until December 3rd of that year. Hibbert adds it may have taken a long time to shatter that record, but in reality, we’ve come close several times.
"We went through all of November in 2011 as well," says Hibbert. "We went with no snow through the whole month of November up till the first of December in 2009. So it's not uncommon to have a late last snow measurement. It's just we're pushing that record farther and farther out."
Hibbert says measurable snow is considered to be a tenth of an inch or more.
Hibbert says the general forecast for this winter is for milder than normal temperatures. The downside though, he says, is the lake has not frozen over so when we do get a lake effect snowfall, it has the potential to be “quite heavy.”