Syracuse has a humid continental climate and is known for its high snowfall. Boasting 115.6 inches (2.94 meters) on average, Syracuse receives the most annual average snow of any metropolitan area in the United States. Syracuse usually wins the Golden Snowball Award, among Upstate cities. Its record seasonal (July 1 to June 30 of the following year) snowfall so far is 192.1 in (4.88 m) during the winter of 1992–93, while the snowiest calendar month was January 2004, with 78.1 in (1.98 m) accumulated. The high snowfall is a result of the city receiving both heavy snow from the lake effect of nearby Lake Ontario (of the Great Lakes) and nor’easter snow from storms driven from the Atlantic Ocean. Snow most often falls in small (about 1–3 inches or 2.5–7.6 centimetres), almost daily doses, over a period of several days. Larger snowfalls do occur occasionally, and even more so in the northern suburbs.
The Blizzard of 1993 was described as the Storm of the Century. Some 42.9 in (109 cm) fell on the city within 48 hours, with 35.6 in (90 cm) falling within the first 24 hours. Syracuse received more snow than any other city in the country during this storm, which shattered a total of eight local records, including the most snow in a single snowstorm. A second notable snowfall was the Blizzard of 1966, with 42.3 in (107 cm). The Blizzard of ’58 occurred in February (16-17th) across Oswego and Onondaga counties. This storm was classified as a blizzard due to the high winds, blowing snow, and cold; 26.1 in (66 cm) of snow was measured at Syracuse and drifts reached 20 ft (6.1 m) in Oswego County. (See Thirtieth Publication of the Oswego County Historical Society, (1969) and The Climate and Snow Climatology of Oswego N.Y., (1971)
Syracuse on average receives an annual precipitation of 38.47 inches (977 millimeters), with the months of July through September being the wettest in terms of total precipitation, while precipitation occurs on more days each month during the snow season.
The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from 23.6 °F (−4.7 °C) in January to 71.3 °F (21.8 °C) in July. The record high of 102 °F (39 °C) was recorded on July 9, 1936, and the record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) has occurred three times since 1942, the last being February 18, 1979.
In the early 21st century, a handful of previous heat records have been broken in the city. For example, July 2020 became the hottest month on record, with a mean temperature of 77.1 °F (25.1 °C), while the summers (June–August) of 2005, 2020, and 2012 were, respectively, the hottest, third-hottest, and fourth-hottest summers on record. Additionally, 2017 and 2018 saw consecutive monthly high temperature records broken in February, of 71 °F (22 °C) on February 24, 2017, and 75 °F (24 °C) on February 21, 2018, in addition to four consecutive days at or above 60 °F (16 °C). The latter was the warmest winter day on record.