Do you need a snowblower in Albany, NY?
The machine for a Albany driveway
Two-stage snowblower
A storm of 10 inches or more hits Albany about once a winter. That is deeper than a single-stage intake can swallow.
Before you buy, measure the garage door and the storage spot: these machines are wide and heavy.
How much snow Albany gets
- Snow a year
- 56 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 3.2 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once a winter
- Days with snow on the ground
- 61
Heavy, more than most snowy cities. That is about 1.6 times what a typical snowy US city gets. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.
On a two car driveway that is about 7.3 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Albany
- Oct0.5
- Nov1.7
- Dec15.5
- Jan16.5
- Feb9.9
- Mar9.8
- Apr2.3
Snow worth clearing runs from November to April, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.
Towns near Albany
Albany is number 42 of 90 New York towns here for snowfall; Utica gets the most at 164 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watervliet, NY | 6 | 59 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Troy, NY | 8 | 59 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Cohoes, NY | 9 | 59 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Schenectady, NY | 11 | 59 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Amsterdam, NY | 28 | 64 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Saratoga Springs, NY | 28 | 64 in | Two-stage snowblower |
Where these numbers come from
Read next: Single-stage or two-stage and Why storm depth matters more than snowfall.
NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Albany Nwfo Univ, 2.5 miles from Albany. A normal winter, not this winter's forecast. Snow is weighed at 6.24 pounds a cubic foot, fresh and fairly dry; wet spring snow can weigh three times that.