Caption

Close

This is what people outside the area imagine living in Albany in the winter is like.

After two seasons of mild winter weather, two major snowstorms left Capital Region residents either tired of shoveling or delighted to finally have fresh powder, depending on their views of winter.

Until these two storms hit, the Capital Region was again experiencing a winter that lagged behind normal snowfall totals. In January, we got a mere 4.6 inches of snow compared to the norm of 17.9, Evan Heller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Tuesday. December's snowfall total was 12 inches, down 1.7 inches from normal.

Halfway through February, monthly snowfall totals 22.2 inches, well above the 12.2 inches that normally lands the entire month.

"We've made up some ground," Heller said. "It looks like the worst is behind us now for the week."

What's here won't be gone soon, though it may shrink a bit as water in the snow condenses. Still, your snowman's carrot nose and charcoal eyes aren't going to be lying in the grass for a while.

Highs will remain in the lower 30s for the next few days, rising to 37 on Saturday and into the 40s Sunday and Monday.

Winds Monday topped 20 mph with gusts even higher, but will taper off Tuesday to around 5 mph.

=Short month, big snowfall

Here's a look at some weather statistics for February.

Total snowfall as of Tuesday: 22.2 inches

Average, month of February: 12.2 inches

Snowfall total, Thursday to Monday: 20.6 inches

Range from Sunday's storm: A low of 6 inches in Berlin and Knox to 11 inches in Valley Falls, Malta and Stillwater

Source: National Weather Service at Albany International Airport

Many Capital Region public schools opened after a two-hour delay Monday, but Albany, Schenectady and Troy schools were among those that closed for the day. Private schools, dependent on buses from the urban districts, also closed.

In Schenectady, district spokeswoman Karen Corona said the decision to close was based on the condition of streets.

"One of the bus companies called us early (Monday) morning and said they couldn't access some of the streets in Schenectady or the buses couldn't fit down the streets to where we pick up some of our kids," she said.

Ron Lesko, spokesman for the Albany district, said that was a factor in the capital city as well.

"Many of the city's narrow side streets are still difficult for buses to navigate or impossible for buses to navigate," he said. "It would have caused significant delays both in the morning and in the afternoon."

Those delays could have left students standing out in the cold, he said.

In addition, many of the district's students walk to school, Lesko said. With many businesses closed Sunday, sidewalks were not clear for students to walk.

"Those kinds of conditions can push walkers into the road," he said.

Monday's high winds would have made walking to school even more unsafe, Lesko said.

Albany used its third snow day, Lesko said. Any further closings will require the district to adjust its school calendar.

Some municipalities, including Albany and Saratoga Springs, again declared snow emergencies. For updates, go to timesunion.com.

In Albany, all vehicles must be parked on the even-numbered side of the street until 8 p.m. Tuesday. After 8 p.m., all vehicles must be parked on the odd-numbered side of the street for the next 24 hours.

In Saratoga Springs, beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, all vehicles on city streets (except alternate-side-parking streets) must be moved to a plowed or cleared area. They must be moved every 12 hours until 9 p.m. Wednesday.

tobrien@timesunion.com • 518-454-5092 • @timobrientu

Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.