N.Y. Gets 3 Feet of Snow to Welcome the Summer
Residents in upstate New York and parts of Vermont got a late taste of winter as nearly three feet of snow fell in the higher elevations, making it feel like the dead of winter instead of the start of summer.
Weather forecasters expected some snowfall in the higher elevations but could not predict the amount that accumulated on the ground.
Weather forecasting service Wunderground.com revealed that recorded snowfall levels in the higher elevations of upstate New York, such as Whiteface Mountain in New York's Adirondack Mountains, got anywhere between 24 and 34 inches since Friday. While the resort is above 5,000 feet, Greensboro, Vt., which is only at 900 feet elevation, recorded a total of nearly five inches.
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Many of Whiteface Mountain's staffers posted pictures of the summer snowfall on Twitter, Flickr and Tumblr, with people from across the country expressing their disbelief at the unusual occurrence.
Memorial weekend is the unofficial start of summer but residents in the region will have to unpack the winter jackets.
Jerry Harte, from Arizona, questioned whether the snowfall was a sign of global warming.
"Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, NY has 34 of snow on Memorial weekend. Nobel winner, Al Gore, says Arctic will be snow free in 15 month?" Harte posted on Twitter.
The storm also produced snowfall in Vermont, with various weather reports indicating that over nine inches of snow fell on Mt. Mansfield and over a foot of snow fell at Stowe, VT, another ski resort town.
Jay Peak, Vt., got 18 inches, Mount Mansfield, Vt., had 13 inches and Walden, Vt., received 6 inches.
The New York cities of Binghamton and Syracuse got trace amounts, but were just enough to break 40-year-old records for the latest snowfall of the year.
