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Southern Ontario is the sunbelt of Canada. On the other hand, Upstate New York, by U.S. standards, is quite cold and isolated. The U.S. has so much space at more temperate latitudes that people don’t “need” to live near the border without some other compelling reason (mining, farming, etc.).
This really comes down to the simple fact that NY has NYC in the bottom of the state so most people and companies in New York state would have offices there. Toronto is the NYC of Canada as has already been stated so this question is like asking why northern New England has so many less people than southern New England it is not the climate so much as the largest cities were established there and so most growth was centered on the already populated areas.
Not necessarily true, as in the Buffalo area, north of the city towards Lake Ontario gets less snow than the Southtowns closer than Lake Erie. Niagara County gets about 50 inches on average. With that said, many areas east/southeast can get hit hard with snow, but that helps in terms of freshwater supply.
In that area it comes down to lake effect snowstorms. Buffalo is on the east end of Lake Ontario; the predominately west winds pick up moisture as it blows across Lake Erie and dumps it on the first colder land masses it hits (Buffalo area and the southern tier). The eastern end of Ontario gets it worse, the Tug Hill Plateau gets the most snow of anywhere east of the Rockies. The Toronto metro area, being on the west end of the lake, is spared the bulk of this effect.
In that area it comes down to lake effect snowstorms. Buffalo is on the east end of Lake Ontario; the predominately west winds pick up moisture as it blows across Lake Erie and dumps it on the first colder land masses it hits (Buffalo area and the southern tier). The eastern end of Ontario gets it worse, the Tug Hill Plateau gets the most snow of anywhere east of the Rockies. The Toronto metro area, being on the west end of the lake, is spared the bulk of this effect.
The records are certainly impressive, but do you know how much Tug Hill gets on an average year?
Some areas near Lake Superior and Newfoundland and Labrador get around 200 inches or more, which is considerably above Oswego, though that's not quite Tug Hill.
The records are certainly impressive, but do you know how much Tug Hill gets on an average year?
Some areas near Lake Superior and Newfoundland and Labrador get around 200 inches or more, which is considerably above Oswego, though that's not quite Tug Hill.
The records are certainly impressive, but do you know how much Tug Hill gets on an average year?
Some areas near Lake Superior and Newfoundland and Labrador get around 200 inches or more, which is considerably above Oswego, though that's not quite Tug Hill.
I think the Tug Hill area averaged about 200 inches, but I'm not positive. They claimed the most snow east of the Rockies, but I have not tried to confirm that. From Wiki:
Quote:
The Tug Hill region is renowned for its bountiful snowfall. The location of the region in relation to Lake Ontario often creates ideal conditions for lake effect snow. Snow depths commonly reach five feet (one and a half meters) or more, on the level, and greatly deeper amounts are routine. The Tug Hill town of Montague, in Lewis County owns the single day New York State record of snowfall with 77 inches (6 feet, 5 inches) (almost 2 meters). Another Tug Hill location, Hooker (a hamlet in the town of Montague) holds the state record for annual snowfall. Hooker also received an extraordinary accumulation of snow in the winter of 1976-1977, with a total accumulation of 466.9 inches – approximately 39 feet (almost 12 meters).
On February 10, 2007, the National Weather Service reported that the Town of Parish had received 100 inches (more than 2.5 meters) of snow over a seven day span, while the village of Redfield received 141 inches (more than 3.5 meters) of snow over a ten day span of February 3-February 12, 2007. In 1977 a huge blizzard struck the Tug Hill region and dumped 97 inches in the small village of Carthage.
One interesting architectural feature related to the heavy snowfall can be found locally in some hunting camps: supplemental, second-floor entry doors. These are located directly above the ground-level front door, and such apertures are used when so much snow has accumulated that the ground-level door can not be accessed.
We used to snowmobile in that area a couple decades ago.
It is in between Lake Ontario and the Tug Hill Plateau.
276 inches... I'm assuming that's snowier than average though (although only until Feb 12). Houghton, MI gets 218 inches in an average year, and the 1978-1979 winter brought 356 inches of snow. Woody Point,
Newfoundland gets 251" or 245" (depending on the source) on an average year and got 376 inches in 1991-1992 and 428 inches in 1978 (352 inches in 1977-1978).
I'd imagine some higher elevation areas in the Northern Appalachians, around Lake Superior, Laurentians, NFDL, Baffin Island or North of the Gulf of St Lawrence could beat that. Mount Washington got 567 inches in one year. In terms of inhabited areas, Woody Point appears to be the snowiest.
Southern Ontario is the sunbelt of Canada. On the other hand, Upstate New York, by U.S. standards, is quite cold and isolated. The U.S. has so much space at more temperate latitudes that people don’t “need” to live near the border without some other compelling reason (mining, farming, etc.).
Yeah, true about upstate NY being sparsely populated, except for mining, and other trading related industries that set up shop that far north in NY. Also, I thought southern British Columbia is warmer than southern Ontario, but yes for Canadian standards it's probably not as cold as other eastern half provinces. And of course, is certainly warmer than far western Ontario(think northern coast of Lake Superior), Manitoba, Saskatchewan, etc.
And wow, I didn't realize the Tug Hill Plateau area was that snowy. I always pictured for whatever reason that Buffalo and Rochester were hit the hardest, but guess not. I wonder if Syracuse is impacted more by high snowfall totals over a whole winter, vs. Buffalo and Rochester?
Yeah, true about upstate NY being sparsely populated, except for mining, and other trading related industries that set up shop that far north in NY. Also, I thought southern British Columbia is warmer than southern Ontario, but yes for Canadian standards it's probably not as cold as other eastern half provinces. And of course, is certainly warmer than far western Ontario(think northern coast of Lake Superior), Manitoba, Saskatchewan, etc.
And wow, I didn't realize the Tug Hill Plateau area was that snowy. I always pictured for whatever reason that Buffalo and Rochester were hit the hardest, but guess not. I wonder if Syracuse is impacted more by high snowfall totals over a whole winter, vs. Buffalo and Rochester?
Syracuse gets more on average in terms of a metro area due to Oswego County, which is the county where Lacona is located. It is essentially in a snow belt and is known for high snowfall totals on average. As a city, I believe that Syracuse gets a little bit more, but is generally prepared to handle it is in a timely manner too.
There are plenty of other industries in Upstate NY, especially in the metros and even in smaller cities/towns.
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