Do you need a snowblower in Cortland, NY?
What clears snow in Cortland
Two-stage snowblower
A storm of 10 inches or more hits Cortland about once every 2 winters. 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.
A normal Cortland winter
- Snow a year
- 64 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 2.9 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 2 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 77
Extreme, among the snowiest towns in the country. That is about 1.8 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 8.4 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Cortland
- Oct0.1
- Nov5.6
- Dec12.7
- Jan16.1
- Feb14.5
- Mar13.0
- Apr2.4
Snow worth clearing runs from November to April, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.
Cortland and its neighbours
Cortland is number 27 of 90 New York towns here for snowfall; Utica gets the most at 164 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ithaca, NY | 20 | 63 in | Gas single-stage |
| Auburn, NY | 30 | 109 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Syracuse, NY | 30 | 128 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Johnson City, NY | 35 | 87 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Endicott, NY | 35 | 87 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Binghamton, NY | 37 | 87 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 Freeville 1 NE, 9.6 miles from Cortland. 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.