Do you need a snowblower in Rochester, NY?
What clears snow in Rochester
Two-stage snowblower
A storm of 10 inches or more hits Rochester about once every 1 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 Rochester winter brings
- Snow a year
- 102 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 3.9 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 1 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 72
Extreme, among the snowiest towns in the country. That is about 2.8 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 13.3 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Rochester
- Oct0.1
- Nov8.1
- Dec22.3
- Jan27.4
- Feb23.1
- Mar17.9
- Apr3.0
- May0.1
Snow worth clearing runs from November to April, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.
Rochester and its neighbours
Rochester is number 9 of 90 New York towns here for snowfall; Utica gets the most at 164 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canandaigua, NY | 26 | 57 in | Gas single-stage |
| Batavia, NY | 31 | 74 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Geneva, NY | 38 | 57 in | Gas single-stage |
| Lockport, NY | 54 | 80 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Auburn, NY | 55 | 109 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Lancaster, NY | 56 | 95 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 Rochester Gtr International Airport, 4.8 miles from Rochester. 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.