Do you need a snowblower in Elmira, NY?
What clears snow in Elmira
Two-stage snowblower
A storm of 10 inches or more hits Elmira 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.
What a Elmira winter brings
- Snow a year
- 42 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 2.4 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 2 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 58
Moderate, a typical snowy-city winter. That is about 1.2 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 5.4 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Elmira
- Oct0.1
- Nov2.7
- Dec8.4
- Jan8.4
- Feb9.5
- Mar11.2
- Apr1.5
Snow worth clearing runs from November to April, heaviest in March. Start and service a machine in October.
Elmira and its neighbours
Elmira is number 46 of 90 New York towns here for snowfall; Utica gets the most at 164 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corning, NY | 13 | 53 in | Gas single-stage |
| Ithaca, NY | 29 | 63 in | Gas single-stage |
| Endicott, NY | 38 | 87 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Johnson City, NY | 43 | 87 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Binghamton, NY | 46 | 87 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Cortland, NY | 48 | 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 Elmira, 1.4 miles from Elmira. 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.