A low pressure area from the Mississippi Valley moved northeastward and rapidly redeveloped along the North Carolina coast by early on Christmas morning. The storm dramatically deepened as it tracked northeast along the atlantic coast and reached just south of eastern Long Island by late Christmas night. With plenty of cold polar air in place, the stage was set for a record breaking snowstorm across eastern New York, the biggest snowstorm since the Superstorm of 93. The snow began in earnest before midday across the Catskills and Mohawk Valley, and overspread the remainder of eastern New York by the afternoon. During the late day and evening hours, snowfall rates averaged 1 to 3 inches per hour while an intense narrow band, with rates up to 5 inches per hour, set up across Southern Herkimer and Montgomery counties. The bulk of the crippling snowstorm fell in about a 15 hour period, winding down a little after midnight on December 26. A little sleet mixed in across the Hudson Valley during the early portions of the storm, but snow was the primary precipitation type. Snowfall amounts ranged from nearly 3 feet across portions of the Mohawk Valley and extreme southern Herkimer County, to about 2 feet in the Capital District and around a foot or less well south from Poughkeepsie south, and from Glens Falls north. There was a sharp cutoff where the accumulating snow fell across northern Herkimer and northern Hamilton counties, but the majority of population in both these counties were still impacted by 7 or more inches of snow.  A few specific snowfall amounts included 21.0 inches at Albany in Albany County, 8.8 inches at Beacon, Dutchess County, 25.0 inches at Niskayuna, Schenectady County and 23 inches at Cobleskill, in Schoharie County. The maximum amount reported from this storm was 34.0 inches in Cedarville, in southern Herkimer County. The 19.2 inches of snow that fell on Christmas Day easily smashed the 13.8 inch Christmas day record previously set in 1978. It was the ninth greatest snowstorm in Albany's history. Not only did the snow come down at a furious clip, but 15 to 30 mph wind gusts produced some blowing and drifting of the snow and travel was next to impossible during the height of the storm. Near blizzard conditions were noted across the higher terrain, where winds briefly gusted to 50 mph.  Many vehicular accidents were reported and many vehicles became stuck or went off roadways. At one point, the New York State Thruway was closed between the cities of Catskill and Syracuse. Many other roads like Highway 5S were closed as well as all county roads in Schenectady County. A general state of emergency was declared in portions of Herkimer, Montgomery and Schenectady counties. Ninety five percent of the flights were cancelled out of Albany International Airport, stranding many at the airport through Christmas night. A transformer malfunction left 2,600 customers in the dark in the Ballston Spa area with spotty power outages noted elsewhere. The snow removal cost was estimated at 310,00 dollars in the city of Schenectady, and it took days for many side roads to be plowed. In the city of Albany the estimated cost of the snow removal was 250,000 dollars.

Winter Storm in NORTHERN SARATOGA, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in SCHOHARIE, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in SOUTHERN HERKIMER, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in SOUTHERN SARATOGA, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WARREN, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WASHINGTON, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WESTERN ALBANY, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WESTERN COLUMBIA, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WESTERN DUTCHESS, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in NORTHERN HERKIMER, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WESTERN GREENE, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WESTERN RENSSELAER, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WESTERN SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WESTERN ULSTER, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in EASTERN ALBANY, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in EASTERN COLUMBIA, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in EASTERN DUTCHESS, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in EASTERN GREENE, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in EASTERN RENSSELAER, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in EASTERN SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in EASTERN ULSTER, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in FULTON, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in HAMILTON, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in MONTGOMERY, NEW YORK
From 25-DEC-02 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-02 04:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER