Do you need a snowblower in Lancaster, NY?
The machine for a Lancaster driveway
Two-stage snowblower
A storm of 10 inches or more hits Lancaster 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 Lancaster gets
- Snow a year
- 95 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 4.4 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once a winter
- Days with snow on the ground
- 71
Extreme, among the snowiest towns in the country. That is about 2.7 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 12.4 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Lancaster
- Oct0.9
- Nov7.8
- Dec25.3
- Jan26.7
- Feb18.1
- Mar14.1
- Apr2.5
Snow worth clearing runs from November to April, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.
Towns near Lancaster
Lancaster is number 14 of 90 New York towns here for snowfall; Utica gets the most at 164 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depew, NY | 2 | 95 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Buffalo, NY | 10 | 95 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Lackawanna, NY | 10 | 95 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Kenmore, NY | 11 | 80 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Tonawanda, NY | 13 | 80 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| North Tonawanda, NY | 14 | 80 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 Buffalo, 4.8 miles from Lancaster. 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.