Chilly August in New York? Whiteface Feels Like Winter’s Already Here!

You think it's cool for August in New York? It feels like winter has already started at the peak of Whiteface Mountain.

As the temperatures drop for a few days, making it feel more like fall in New York, the weather at Whiteface is an entirely different story.

Many of us woke up on Tuesday, August 21 to below normal temperatures for the middle of August. Depending on where you live, it varied from 50 to low 40s. Chilly for this time of year but a heatwave compared to the summit of Whiteface.

READ MORE: Hand Carved Tunnel Winds Through Whiteface Mountain

Below Freezing at Peak

It was 37 degrees but felt more like 25 with the 26 mile per hour wind gusts at the peak of the mountain. One day later it was even COLDER!

Temperatures at the The Atmospheric Sciences Research Center at the Whiteface Mountain Field Station hit 36 degrees with wind gusts making feel well below zero.

It's still August Mother Nature! Can you please tell Old Man Winter there's still a few weeks left to enjoy the warm weather before he moves into the Northeast.

Thankfully temperatures will rebound back to where they should be for this time of year. We better all enjoy it. The last few days are just a tease of what's to come.

First Flakes of the Season

The first flakes of the season arrived late on the summit of Whiteface in 2023. Snow didn't fall until the second week of October. In 2022 it was a little earlier, first appearing near the end of September.

READ MORE: First Flakes of the Season on Whiteface Peak

2023 Snow

2022 Snow

Earliest Snow in New York

How early has snow started falling in Central and Upstate New York?

Winter doesn't officially begin until December 21. However, sometimes there is snow soon enough to make a Halloween costume big enough to fit over winter coats.

Lowville received 4 inches as early as October 1 back in 1944.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration created an interactive map to see when the first flakes of the season fell all across the country.

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Earliest New York Snow

October 1, 1944: 4 inches of snow in Lowville
October 1, 1946: .6 inches of snow at Syracuse Hancock Airport
November 1, 1951: 1 inch of snow in Delta
October 14, 1958: 1.5 inches of snow in Forestport
September 27, 1980: .3 inches of snow in Old Forge
October 11, 1987: 4 inches of snow at Oneida County Airport
Octber 22, 1988: 1.1 inches of snow in Frankfort

Central New York didn't have much of white Christmas for 2023. In fact, the first measurable snow didn't fall until January 2024.