What are the biggest snowstorms in Rochester history? These were some of the worst

Yahoo

12-02-2025

Rochester is among the snowiest cities in nation. The region is astride common storm tracks and far enough north that precipitation often falls as snow instead of rain.
And of course, the Flower City is located along the shore of one of the world's largest snow-generating machines — Lake Ontario.
So epic winter storms are not uncommon. Here are some of Rochester's biggest:
1. February 28 - March 2, 1900. 43.5 inches
Snow fell for 63 hours straight, making this the worst snowstorm and deepest snow pack ever seen in Rochester. The monster storm halted commerce and disrupted lives through the Great Lakes region, with cities from Cleveland to Buffalo to Montreal reporting blizzard conditions. In this area, Le Roy had 10-foot drifts, Geneva was cut off from outside communication and the only people who made it into Brockport arrived on horses. In the city, people bemoaned the fact that the daily milk train had been hours late and delivery vehicles weren't able to navigate the streets.
2. February 27 - March 3, 1984. 32.7 inches
The Great Leap Day storm, as this was known, extended for six straight days. But the worst of it came on the last two days of February, when nearly 2 feet of snow fell and the Rochester area was briefly in shut-down mode. People had resumed their normal lives by March 1, but light snow continued as crews struggled to clear streets and haul away snow.
3. January 29 - February 2, 1966. 28.8 inches
The Blizzard of '66 featured a great deal of lake-effect snow, with reports of 100-inches snowfalls and 30-foot drifts at locations near the east end of Lake Ontario. The area was paralyzed for a time, and a father and daughter died of exposure along an Orleans County road after their car, which they'd pulled off the road, was buried in snow. The Feb. 2 Democrat and Chronicle contained a startling report that wholesale suppliers said the community was running short of food.
4. March 13-15, 2017. 26.5 inches
This storm was insidious in that it began just five days after a ferocious windstorm knocked out power to much of the Rochester area. Schools and most businesses closed; those that remained open had few customers, as no one could travel.
5. February 5-7, 1978. 25.8 inches
The entire eastern United States was socked by this storm. Part of the New York State Thruway was closed, and the stock exchange in New York City shut down as well. Locally, it started slowly but shut down Rochester on Feb. 7, 1978. Two men died of heart attacks after trying to shovel snow that lay two feet deep. The city manager later ordered an investigation of snow-removal failures.
1. March 1, 1900. 29.8 inches.
This mother of all one-day storms forced cancellation of most train service, blocked roads, closed schools, shuttered stores and left coal companies hustling to meet a spike in demand. This was the second day of a three-day event that became the biggest snowstorm on record here.
2. January 3, 1996. 23 inches
A good portion of this mammoth snowfall was lake-effect snow from Lake Ontario. Transportation networks ground to a halt, and schools were closed for two days straight. Municipal highway departments, their budgets already depleted by a heavy plowing workload in November and December, cried poverty.
3. March 4, 1999. 22.3 inches
"Blizzard of '99" screamed the headline atop the next day's Democrat and Chronicle. "Big blow triggers mammoth paralysis, road chaos." A state of emergency was declared after a storm that drops 2 to 3 inches of snow an hour ravaged the region. Chagrined forecasters admitted they hadn't foreseen the severity of the storm.
4. March 6, 1999. 18.4 inches
Coming on the heels of an even bigger storm two days earlier, this monster forced the county government to reimpose a state of emergency six hours after the old one was lifted. Parts of the New York State Thruway closed, as did local malls and many other businesses. Thanks largely to these back-to-back storms, March 1999 was the snowiest March ever in Rochester.
5. February 14, 1960. 18.4 inches
This storm was billed at the worst in Rochester in a decade. Snowdrifts were hip-deep. Roads were closed and airplanes grounded, though passenger trains remained in service. Two men died of heart attacks while shoveling snow. The storm helped make the winter of 1959-60 the snowiest in local history.
NOTE: Unofficial records show a one-day snowfall of 30 inches on Feb. 15, 1837, and multi-day storms totaling 30 inches on Feb. 2-7, 1845, and Feb. 4-6, 1854. The storms are omitted from this list because measurements were not made by official weather observers.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester NY Weather: Worst blizzards and snowstorms in history