golden snow globe

All posts tagged golden snow globe

Three New Cities in the Top Ten and Three Out

Posted by Patrick on November 24, 2013
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Warning, Online Begging Ahead ;) – OK, I hate to do this butttt…. It’s time for our annual, errr bi-annual, ummm quarterly solicitations for donations to the website. It helps to pay for some of the out of pocket costs of hosting the site not to mention the time put into keeping it updated and so on like trying to come up with my clueless posts like this. I promise anything left over will go to food and drink for myself ;) Don’t ever get me wrong. I truly enjoy keeping this site going and have as much fun as I’m sure all of you do seeing the snow stats. OK, maybe not all of you but hopefully some of you ;) Anyways if you enjoy the site and have a couple of bucks and would like to pitch in all you have to do is hit the donate button up above which will take you to my Pay Pal account to donate securely. Thanks, it really does help and it definitely is appreciated no matter how big or small. Bill Gates if you happen to stop by here feel free to drop a million in the account ;) END OF BEGGING :)

OK, on to the snow stuff and it’s been a busy, snowy weekend for some of us. 3 cities fell out of the top 10 on the snow mountain and of course 3 new cities filled their in their slot on the mountain. The 3 cities that dropped out are Salt Lake City, Utah, Denver, Colorado and Cleveland, Ohio. My guess is that a couple of those cities will be back in the top 10 before the season is over.

New into the top 10 are Erie, Pa, Rochester, NY and Syracuse, New York in which all 3 of the cities benefitted this weekend being able to tap into some decent lake effect snow. Syracuse actually tied a snow record for the date yesterday which went back to 1981 picking up 4.5 inches of new snow which is pretty good for this time in the season. I was watching the snow bands yesterday and last night and I thought maybe Erie and Rochester may have gotten a little more but either way the Golden Snow Globe contest is starting to shape up.

One of the fun things about this national snow contest is getting to meet and yes, puff smoke, poke fun and do some friendly trash talking about each others cities and their chance of winning. Yes, that is allowed here in the comment section as long as it’s all in fun. Some of our visitors from Erie seem to dish it out pretty good and the last couple of days it’s been fun going back and forth with a guy I’ll call the Dr. on twitter. All in fun and of course he suggests that we, me being from Syracuse are afraid of Erie, Pa :) I do admit that Erie’s snow stats are one of the first one I look at and keep an eye on during the winter but afraid? Ha! I told the Dr. though that you people from Erie better start making some babies because your population is getting pretty close to the cut off population of 100,000 according to the last census. Only around 1000 people are keeping you in and I would hate to have to drop Erie from the contest, one of our strongest competitors, NOT. Joking aside I think the census is every 10 years so you have plenty of time ;)

Speaking of the census and the populations of the cities, good lead in huh ;) I’ve been putting off updating the new populations since the 2010 census came out but I finally started to update the cities last night and I should have them all updated in a couple of days. OK, enough rambling. Some of us need to keep an eye on what could be a storm coming up the coast come mid week. As much as I like a good storm I’m kind of hoping this one turns out to be rain for most of us just because it’s Thanksgiving week and a lot of people will be travelling. OK, really enough rambling on now.

How it Looked with Snow at My House Last Night

Lake Effect Snowfall in Minoa, NY 11/23/13

 

HAVE a GREAT WEEK EVERYONE and a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

New Snowy Cities Added and Old Cities Dropped

Posted by Patrick on November 23, 2013
Posted in: All US Snow Cities, Montana Snowfall. Tagged: , , , , , .

Stephen and I started talking about dropping a few of the cities in the Golden Snow Globe contest and adding a couple new ones. I went through the list to see who the lightweights were and dropped 6 of the old cities from the snow mountain and added 2 new ones that Stephen suggested that now have a population over 100,000 people. One is obviously a good one because they went straight to the top and are currently the King of The Snow Mountain.

Billings, Montana which shows a population of 106,954 is now leading the snow derby showing 11.1 inches of snow so far. More than enough to slide by Anchorage, AK and Sioux Falls, SD. The other new city to the snowy city list is Rochester, Minnesota which is showing a population of 108,992 as of the last US census taken. They are starting out in 18th place in the snow derby and hopefully will be a performer also.

Dropped from the list after looking at some snow stats were 6 cities and if you’re from one of those cities don’t worry, if we see that you are getting a decent amount of snow we will definitely add you back to the list. We did leave in some cities that probably could have been dropped and we will see how it goes down the slope to decide whether to keep them in or drop them. A lot of the ones we kept in that are underperformers are the coastal cities on the East – Northeast coast. The reason being of course for the fact that Nor’easters and coastal storms seem to be hitting us quite a bit lately. I think one is possible come this week as a matter of fact. Anyways, don’t take it personally and like I mentioned if your city starts getting some decent snow just drop us a comment and we will add it back to the list.

The cities we dropped this round were (Wichita and Topeka, Kansas,) (Boise City, Idaho), (Springfield, Missouri), (Oklahoma and Tulsa, OK). Start doing the snow dances so hopefully we will be seeing you back on the list before the season is over ;)

IMPORTANT – If you see a city that gets quite a bit of snow on average each season then let us know. We want to add as much competition as possible to keep the snow contest fun like it was last season. The closer it is the more fun it is. One of the reasons for that change is that it takes anywhere from 2 – 4 hours every time I do a full update. I’d like to get it down to around 2 hours which would allow me to get in more updates during the snow season. OK, enough rambling for now ;)

Have an awesome weekend everyone and snow is in the forecast for a lot of cities. See Snow, Drive Slow ;)

Anchorage Alaska Knocks Sioux Falls, South Dakota From Snowiest City

Posted by Patrick on November 11, 2013
Posted in: All US Snow Cities, Anchorage Alaska Snow Info. Tagged: , , .

Just a quick heads up and I’m going to keep it short – I figured it was just a matter of time before Anchorage got a decent snowfall and they finally did yesterday. Yesterday they grabbed over a half a foot of snow, 7.3 inches to move them to the top spot on the snow mountain. I just did a quick top 10 update and that was the only change in the lineup. Don’t forget that Anchorage has won the contest in the past so keep an eye on them ;)

While I was looking around I came across a pretty funny and entertaining but also serious post online from a man named John at the Alaska Commons website. Worth reading for those of us still getting ready for our first real snowfall. Check it out Here at Alaska Commons

Have a great week :)

Sioux Falls South Dakota Now Leads in National Snow Contest

Posted by Patrick on November 10, 2013
Posted in: All US Snow Cities, Shopping. Tagged: , , , , .

We have another lead change in the National Snow contest here at the Golden Snow Globe. So far for the 2013 – 2014 season and I’m sure there will be several more to come unless a city gets a huge jump early on. There was quite a bit of shuffling this last update along with a couple of cities falling out of the top 10.

Sioux Falls, SD picked up more than enough snow with over half a foot of snow and almost doubling the snow totals of the next best snowiest city which is Salt Lake City, Utah who moved up from 7th place on the snow board to the second slot. It’s obviously way to early to even think about a winner but it should be a decent contest again this season.

Several more cities picked up some measurable snow since the last update including a couple of the favorites, Syracuse, NY and Anchorage, Alaska. So far Anchorage is the biggest under performing city with just 0.2 inches of snowfall on the season. Normally they have almost a foot of snow by now, 11.5 inches to be exact.

A couple of days ago I was hearing some rumors of a possible Nor’easter developing toward the end of this week but really haven’t heard a whole lot more about that recently so I suppose we will just have to wait and see what happens. Enough for now and I’ll be getting more updates in this season as long as there is snow to report.

Warning, Shameless Plug Ahead ;) – I just updated my outdoor yard inflatables for Christmas section. There are Christmas inflatable blowups from several stores. Just click on the one you like and it will take you to that store. We also have a huge selection of Walmart Christmas inflatables which some of them are sold only online. Don’t forget the Free Shipping from their site to a store near you deal. Click Here For Cool 2013 Christmas Inflatables and Blowups.

Have an awesome week everyone ;)

A New King of The Snow Mountain

Posted by Patrick on November 5, 2013
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , , , , .

The cold air has finally hit quite a few of the states now but it’s still the Colorado cities taking control of the national snow contest. Remember, only cities with a population of 100,000 or more are on the list.

Fort Collins, Colorado jumped ahead of Lakewood to take the top spot in the snowiest city in the US but only by a couple of snowflakes. Being the beginning of the snow season that’s about all that any of the cities are showing right now is just a few flakes here and there. A few things did stand out this last update though. Erie, Pa is now on the snowboard, Anchorage, Alaska still doesn’t have any measurable snow and a lot more cities are showing at least a trace of snow compared to the last update.

Anchorage normally would be leading right about now averaging 9.6 inches for this time in the season. Right now they are only showing a trace and aren’t even in the top 10. Remember they have been the only city since we started keeping stats to dethrone Syracuse, NY as the snowiest US city. I’m still in the process of moving but what will be cool is when I get hooked up and start watching one of my favorite shows, Gold Rush Alaska, I/We already know that they are going to have a lot better start this season and shouldn’t have to move a ton of snow before they start digging for gold ;)

Then there is that pesty Erie, Pa and I say that affectionately toward those of you from Erie :) Erie made the snow contest fun last season and were one of a couple of cities who came just inches away from taking the glory and bragging rights away from Syracuse, NY, My hometown just in case you didn’t know. Well Erie is on the snowboard now with a few tenths of an inch of snow and as always they are one of the cities that always worry me along with Worcester, Anchorage and a couple others. They should make it fun again for the new 2013 – 2014 snow season.

Another thing that caught my attention was that as of the last update we only had 12 cities showing any measurable snow or at least a trace of snow. This update we have 36 cities with at least a trace or more. I think we may be seeing a lot of lead changes this season and as always the bragging rights to snowiest big city in the US are up for grabs.

Just a heads up that we are going to be dropping a few cities out of the lineup in the next several days. It’s obvious that some of the cities don’t have a chance and we would like to get it down to around 40 – 50 cities. If you want to defend why your city should be listed here then now s the time. I’ve left a few in just because it was interesting to see that cities like Albuquerque, NM do get some snow each season but it’s getting a little too time consuming each update. I think the first 2 cities we need to drop is Worcester, Mass and Erie :) Joking of course! That said if you know of a city that isn’t listed but gets some decent snow and they are not on here then feel free to let us know. Keep in mind the population needs to be at least 100,000 as of the last census.

OK, enough for now and you all Have a Super Night and as always, “See Snow – Drive Slow” unless on a sled of course ;)

It’s Snowing in Colorado

Posted by Patrick on October 23, 2013
Posted in: All US Snow Cities, Colorado Snow Info. Tagged: , , , , .

I just finished the first 2013 – 2014 full update for the snowiest big city in the United States, population of 100,000 or more and it’s all Colorado. This kind of surprises me because normally Anchorage, Alaska has something to report by now and all they are showing is a trace of snow. Not a single flake has fallen yet here in the Syracuse, New York area and it’s the same for some of the other cities that were on the top last season.

Yup, it’s still a little early for most of us but the cold air is starting to move in and I’m guessing come the next update there will be several more cities showing some measurable snow. Right now we have only 4 cities reporting measurable snow and they are all from Colorado. Lakewood, Co is the King of the snow mountain right now with 3 inches of snow hitting the ground so far this season, followed up by Fort Collins, Denver and Pueblo, Colorado. If you remember, last season we had to drag on because the cities in Colorado had some decent snow late in the season.

If I remember right and trust me I normally don’t, the Colorado cities started off really slow and made a big push at the end of the season. Syracuse got luck last season with some late snow of their own to overtake snowy Erie, Pa and Worcester, Mass right near the end of the season. Is there a city that will dethrone Syracuse this season? After the 2012 – 2013 season I have to say yes but the question is which city will be the snowiest city in the U.S.A. for the 2013 – 2014 snow season? Do you have any favorites????

Have an Awesome Day All ;)

Let The 2013 – 2014 National Snow Games Begin

Posted by Patrick on October 21, 2013
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , , , , .

I kind of just want to just yell out NOOOOOOOOO but that isn’t going to stop the snow from coming and over taking the warm summer and fall days that seem to have just flied by like the snow will be flying sometime really soon :( Yup, here we go again and the contest has actually already begun. I took a peak around and sure enough some of the cities have some measurable snowfall totals and it’s mainly the Colorado cities. They were the ones who stretched the national snow contest out last season and go figure they want to get a jump start this season..

The snow contest for the 2012 – 2013 snow season was one of the closest and most exciting contest since we started up the national snow site. As always we had to wait for some of the Colorado cities before we could call it but it was a great snow race right to the end between Erie, Pa, Worcester, Mass, Syracuse, New York and some of the cities from Colorado who made a late charge at the end.

A lot of back and forth between Erie, Worcester and Syracuse but Syracuse, NY was able to get some late snow, I think about a foot if my memory serves me right (it normally doesn’t so beware) to jump into the lead and take claim to the snowiest big city for the 2012 – 2013 season. Congrats to Syracuse and all of the other cities who hung tough till the end. It was a fun snow season :)

I’ll be checking some stats tonight and hope to get at least a top 10 update in and maybe more tonight. Hey, it’s been awhile and I have to remember how to this stuff again. Hopefully NOAA, the National Weather Service hasn’t made too many changes in the off season.

Have a Great Snowy Season All and Stay Safe ;)   As Always, See Snow Drive Slow!

It’s a Wrap, Syracuse Wins National Snow Contest

Posted by Patrick on May 31, 2013
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , , , .

Congratulations Syracuse, NY, the new King of the Snow Mountain…  Here it is 90 degrees in Syracuse, New York and I’m finally calling the snow contest a wrap.  Syracuse has regained the title of snowiest big city in the country (pop 100,000) once again.  After last seasons embarrassing finish of 7th place with just 50.6 inches and being blown away by last years snow champ Anchorage, Alaska who had a snow total of 134.5 Syracuse managed to pull off a very close snow race between several cities this season.  For the 2012 – 2013 snow season Syracuse was able to win with a total of 115.4 inches, even though being just shy of their average snowfall of around 123.8 inches.

Some of the tough competition came from Erie, Pa, Worcester, MA, Anchorage and a strong finish by Lakewood, Colorado.  The Colorado cities got off to a slow start but were one of the reasons the snow contest went this late in the season.  For some reason this season just didn’t want to end and Lakewood, CO ended up jumping from #18 on the list to #5.  To be honest with the late snowfall this season even  now I feel a little uncomfortable calling it.  15 of the cities in the contest had some measurable snow in May and several others had at least a trace.

Syracuse was lucky that they were able to pick up something like 12 inches of snow in April that managed to miss Erie, PA and Worcester, MA to pull off a come from behind King of the Snow Mountain victory.  Several times toward the end it looked like either Erie or Worcester were going to take the crown.  I thought this season was one of the most fun ones to date because of the different lead changes right to the end.  Great job to both Worcester and Erie and I have a feeling they will be in the running again come next season.

I think normally I call the contest around May 15th when it seems like the snow is done for the season in cities in Colorado, Nebraska and a couple others.  This season I was watching the Colorado cities slowly move up the line-up and was too big of a sissy man to call it too early.  Hey, it’s been a whacky snow season when a lot of cities are still getting snow in May.  Not unheard of but I’m sure a few of them may have set a record for latest snow received.  Fort Collins picked up 12.9 inches of snow in May.  Below are some of the other Golden Snow Globe cities that pick up measurable snow in May.

Fort Collins, CO — 12.9 inches in May
Lakewood, CO —-  8.0
Des Moines, Iowa – 6.9
Denver, Colorado – 3.4
Omaha, Nebraska – 3.1
Lincoln, Nebraska – 2.7
Independence, Mo – 2.0
Colorado Springs — 1.8
Sioux Falls, SD — 1.5
Springfield, Mo —- 1.4
Anchorage, AK —- 1.3
Saint. Paul, MN — 0.6
Pueblo, CO —— 0.6
Kansas City, MO – 0.5
Minneapolis, MN – 0.5

That about sums it up for a fun 2012 – 2013 snow season and like I said it was a fun one.  We got to meet a lot of new people from different cities in the contest.  The season went right down until the end which made it even more fun.  I’ll be popping in every now and then throughout the summer to see what’s going on.  We hope all of you have a safe and fun filled Summer with what ever kind of weather it is you like.  Me, I’ll take 70 and sunny.  Have a great one All!

Fantasy Snowfall 2013: Final Results

Posted by GSG Fantasy Snowfall on May 7, 2013
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , .

I think I’ve made you all wait long enough now. There are a few announcements at the end of this post, but we’ll get to the results first. As always, the sleepers are in italics. This month Pat used his 2 sleeper option so he has 6 starters.

GSG Fantasy Snowfall 2013 April Update
Pat Steve
64.35 47.95
Starters (Full Credit)
Fort Collins, CO 29.4 Denver, CO 20.4
Green Bay, WI 7.8 Des Moines, IA 0.0
St. Paul, MN 17.0 Madison, WI 0.3
Worcester, MA 0.0 Minneapolis, MN 17.9
Newark, NJ 0.0 Boston, MA 0.0
Pueblo, CO 3.5
Total 57.7 Total 38.6
Bench (Half Credit)
Buffalo, NY 0.3 Anchorage, AK 16.0
Erie, PA 1.0 Cleveland, OH 0.3
Spokane, WA 0.0 Rochester, NY 2.3
Syracuse, NY 12.0 Salt Lake City, UT 0.1
South Bend, IN 0.0
Total 6.65 Total 9.35

Pat takes April! But, was is enough to take this year’s title?

GSG Fantasy Snowfall 2013 Standings
Teams January February March April Total
Pat 80.25 166.00 108.05 64.35 418.65
Steve 84.55 174.30 106.50 47.95 413.30

It was, by 5.35 inches! In a season in which seemingly big leads were overcome monthly, it is rather fitting that the final big lead was overcome as well. Congratulations Pat, you’ve won GSG Fantasy Snowfall 2013! There’s a little donation waiting for you. Those 2 statements may or may not be related to each other. :)

********************************************************************

Now for the announcements.

First off, we are excited to bring Fantasy Snowfall back for next season. It will once again, be a four month event, but the timing will be altered. Next season will run from December 1st through March 31st. So the draft will be held in mid to late November.

Secondly, I will not be a participant next season. I will still be involved with Fantasy Snowfall as an administrative role, updating the stats, running the draft and so forth. But in interest of fairness, I should not be a participant for as long as we continue Fantasy Snowfall. So that means we’ll need someone to take my spot in the contest. We have a possibility out there, but we’ll wait for next season to see how that pans out before making an announcement.

Third, we are going to expand the contest to 4 participants. How we get those other 2 people is yet to be determined. However, we may very well end up making it open to the public. If you would like to participate in next year’s event, leave a comment! We’ll keep you in mind for next year’s contest. :)

And finally, this is not Fantasy Snowfall related at all, but I thought I’d give it a brief mention while there’s some interest in the site this season. So, it’s some shameless self promotion. :) I will be participating in a video game event in early November, called Extra Life. Proceeds from my page are going to the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse, NY. While the event is almost 6 months away, donations are being accepted right now. Click here for more information. Thank you everyone! :)

Thanks to all who have checked out Fantasy Snowfall 2013 and we’re looking forward to next season! Well…maybe we’ll enjoy warmer weather first.

Fantasy Snowfall 2013: 4/14 Update

Posted by GSG Fantasy Snowfall on April 14, 2013
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , .

We’re just about halfway through the final month of Fantasy Snowfall. Some cities already have as much snow, or more, than they had in all of January. We’ll get to that in just a bit, but first, here’s how the teams stand so far in April. As a reminder, the sleepers are in italics. Pat used his 2 sleeper option this month, so he has 6 starters.

GSG Fantasy Snowfall 2013 April Update
Pat Steve
20.65 21.80
Starters (Full Credit)
Fort Collins, CO 1.5 Denver, CO 6.6
Green Bay, WI 7.3 Des Moines, IA 0.0
St. Paul, MN 4.9 Madison, WI 0.0
Worcester, MA 0.0 Minneapolis, MN 6.6
Newark, NJ 0.0 Boston, MA 0.0
Pueblo, CO 0.8
Total 14.5 Total 13.2
Bench (Half Credit)
Buffalo, NY 0.3 Anchorage, AK 14.7
Erie, PA 0.0 Cleveland, OH 0.2
Spokane, WA 0.0 Rochester, NY 2.3
Syracuse, NY 12.0 Salt Lake City, UT 0.0
South Bend, IN 0.0
Total 6.15 Total 8.60

With the big snow cities forced to be on the bench this month, it’s not a surprise to see the bigger snow totals there. As I mentioned up top though, some cities are already at, or above, their totals for all of January. Those cities are Anchorage, Denver, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Syracuse. It makes for an interesting race to the finish, but how long will the snow last?

The final results for the season will be posted May 1st. Depending on events between now and then, we may sneak in one more update.