REDFIELD, N.Y. (AP) - This village in upstate New York's snowbelt gets a lot of snowfall during the winter, but last week's total—more than 11 feet, unofficially—might be an all-time record. Before it began to wind down Sunday, persistent streams of squalls fueled by moisture from Lake Ontario during the last week consistently dumped lake-effect snow in this western New York region.
All that's left—apart from the massive dig out—is to claim the record for the most snowfall in a week. Redfield's total of 136 inches would break the state record of ten feet, seven inches that fell in nearby Montague over seven days ending Jan. 1, 2002, said Steve McLaughlin, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Buffalo. A National Weather Service official will travel Monday to verify the amount.
"In all my life, I mean my entire life combined, I've never seen this much snow at once," said Jim Bevridge, 47, of Timmonium, Md., who drove up Thursday for a long weekend of snowmobiling.
McLaughlin said the proper way to measure snow requires taking readings about every six hours. It's very important with lake-effect snow.
"It can be light and fluffy. If you did hourly measurements, you might come up with 24 inches, when there's really only 16 on the ground. It needs to be able to pack some," he said.
The heavy snow is common along the Tug Hill Plateau, a 50-mile wedge that rises 2,100 feet from the lake's eastern shore. It usually gets about 300 inches—roughly 25 feet—of snow a year.
The hamlet of Hooker holds the state's one-year record with 466.9 inches, about 39 feet, in winter 1976-77. Redfield receives an annual average of 270 inches—more than 22 feet.
The weeklong snows left behind surreal scenes.
One house appeared to be in a cocoon. The only signs of parked SUVs were their radio antennas or roof racks rising above the snow. Dug out sidewalks looked like miniature canyons.
Some of the more hardened locals, however, aren't impressed.
"It's snow. We get a lot of it. So what?" said Allan Babcock, a lifelong resident who owns a popular diner in this village of 650 people located about 38 miles northeast of Syracuse.
Roads were mostly cleared Sunday as workers turned their attention to removing the snow and trimming down 10- and 12-foot-high snowbanks.
The intense blast of snow hasn't been blamed for any deaths in Oswego County. Elsewhere, however, more than a week of bitter cold and slippery roads have contributed to at least 25 deaths across the northeastern quarter of the nation—five in Ohio, four in Illinois, four in Indiana, two in Kentucky, seven in Michigan, and one each in Wisconsin, and Maryland and elsewhere in New York, authorities said.
