El Nino: Severe Snow Drought in Buffalo:

It Still Hasn't Snowed in Buffalo This Season; Where's the Snow?

By Quincy Vagell

Published Dec 4 2015 09:02 PM EST

weather.com

Unusual Pattern Gripping U.S.

Meteorologist Ari Sarsalari talks about a widespread warm-up coming across the country. 

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Unusual Pattern Gripping U.S.

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Ski Resorts Waiting on Snow in New England

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It's already December and still no snow has been measured this season at Buffalo, New York, breaking a record that had stood for over 100 years.

Buffalo usually expects to see at least some significant snow by this point in the season. Just last year, an intense lake-effect event dumped over 80 inches of snow in mid-November across parts of the Buffalo area.

The last time Buffalo did not measure any measurable snow in the autumn before Dec. 3 was in 1899. But that record has been broken and may be shattered. With warmer than average temperatures forecast for much of December, it could be quite some time before the area finally sees measurable snowfall. Measurable snowfall is defined as at least 0.1 inch of snow falling on a given day.

What's Causing the Lack of Snow?

Warmer-than-average conditions, driven by one of the strongest El Niños on record, is one glaring reason why snow has struggled to reach Buffalo.

This past month marked the seventh warmest November on record for Buffalo, and temperature records for the area go back to the early 1870s. For daytime warmth, 21 days in the month of November reached or exceeded 50 degrees, tying 2001 and 2011 for the most on record in November.

Red colors indicate warmer than average temperatures, while blues highlight below average temperatures for November 2015.

The numbers tell a similar story at night, with just seven November days reporting a low temperature at or below freezing. Only six of the past 142 Novembers have had fewer freezing daily lows. It is hard to experience accumulating snowfall when it has been as mild as Buffalo has been.

It's not just the warm weather though. This past November was also the third-driest November on record. Precipitation was 67 percent below average for the month at Buffalo.

So, where is the snow?

Moving into December, the jet stream is displaced unusually far north across Canada. That means the active storm track and cold air are largely displaced north and northwest of Buffalo. While it may be snowing in Canada, not much of that snow has reached the Great Lakes region...