Being from Syracuse, New York there may not be many things we are known for. However, snow is not one of those things. Many meteorologists refer to Syracuse as the snowiest city in the continental United States. On an average year, you can expect up to 120 inches in the salt city.
Although most of us hate the snow with a burning passion, we can never give up an opportunity to brag about how we are one of the snowiest cities in the nation. Chances are that if you are not from the area you probably do not know of the phenomenon that that causes us to get mass amounts of snow.
Many people will use the term "Lake Effect machine". Which in short is essentially what it is, Lake Effect Snow. If you have ever looked at Syracuse on a map it is approximately 40 miles southeast from the Great Lakes. For those of you who may not know, water cools much slower than the air temperature.
Therefore, when Winter begins in Upstate New York, the water of the Great Lakes stays much warmer than the air temperature. This is essentially the cause of Lake Effect. What happens is the moisture from the warm lake is picked up by the wind, then later it cools and condenses where it is deposited downwind. A given storm could deposit up to three feet of snow.
Most people are typically disgusted by the thought of that much snow. However, living in the same area my whole life there are many benefits that young kids can take advantage of with this much snow. To start, a snow day was always welcomed, at least for me.
At least three to five times a year we would accumulate too much snow overnight for school buses to be able to drive, so they would cancel school. Then of course, there was a ritual that was practiced in order for us to be guaranteed a snow day. First you put a pencil in the freezer. Then, you always had to put a dime under your pillow before bed.
Finally, you were required to sleep with your pajamas inside out. Since that would always work, we were then left with our day open for anything, of course after I shoveled the driveway for my parents. Fortunately, my village back home is virtually a giant hill. Sledding was a must for snow days.
On a typical day, my friends and I would meet in the same spot right behind the High School. The only downside was that sledding is just as much tiring as it was fun. Usually for me, once sledding was over it was time to go home to start the homework that should have been done for that day. A lot of us would hear word of upcoming snow days and just not bother doing homework.
Although snow can be a huge pain in the butt, I would not trade it for warm sunny days. And I honestly cannot give a valid reason why. I just find that experiencing the four seasons and constantly changing weather keeps the days more exciting.
I suppose to support that would be the fact that I decided to go to St. Lawrence University where although it does not snow as much as back home, it is much colder!
