IT’S OFFICIAL: Boonville cracks 200-inches of snow for first time since winter of '08 - '09
BOONVILLE- For the first time in over 15-years, the Boonville, NY area has officially cracked 200-inches of snow.
During the winter of 2008 - 2009, the now late Mr. George Capron, who was known as ‘Mr. WBRV,’ measured 213.1 inches that season.
That was the last time the Boonville area officially cracked the 200-inch mark, until the morning of Tuesday, February 18, 2025, where a monstrous lake effect snow storm the night before unleashed enough accumulation to put Boonville at 213.4-inches(as of this publication, the official seasonal total has gone up to 221.3-inches)… and there is still quite a chunk of winter left to go.
For context, if you take a look in Lewis County, Copenhagen has already broken the 300-inch mark for this winter season.
If you look back through the years on Mr. Capron’s snow chart, 200-plus-inches of snow for Boonville was as common as could be.
In fact, between the winter of 1978 - 1979 and 2008, there were nearly 20 seasons where Boonville broke 200-inches of snow, according to our snow chart.
For context, the winters of 1976 - 1977 and 1977 - 1978, Boonville measured 661-inches between those two seasons alone.
During the 1970’s, there were four winter seasons where Boonville broke over 300-inches of snow (1971: 301-inches; 1972: 312-inches; 1977: 343-inches and 1978: 318-inches). “I remember the winter of 77,” said Daryl Marcy, of Boonville, NY.
“So much snow, our cars were buried in our yard. Took a good part of a day to shovel them out. Then snowmobiling was very popular with locals on Yellow Bombadiers. No big trails you cut trails through the snow.”
SNOW BANKS: Americo Ventiquattro digs out with his snowblower in West Leyden, NY. Image taken thanks to his wife, Jessica.
For context, Boonville and the general Central New York and North Country regions have gone through quite a dry spell in terms of having any sort of winter at all over the last several years.
During the winter of 2011 - 2012, Boonville didn’t even make it to 100-inches. Since the winter of 2008 - 2009, it’s been a grind for the Boonville area to even break 100-inches.
There have been several snowmobiling and skiing seasons where the conditions were barely met up to par, leaving local businesses, restaurants, taverns and lodging establishments to barely make ends meet.
With over 15-years of winter seasons, where snow measurements somewhere 100 and 160-inches became new norm, 2025 has certainly stirred things up a bit.
Have people already forgotten what winters used to be like here in the North Country? For some, maybe.
The younger generations certainly would not recall the winters endured prior to the 1990’s, but plenty others can. “I was just talking to someone the other day about the snow banks always being this high when we were kids,” said Kristen Reese, of Rome, NY (originally from Port Leyden, NY). “We would always build snow tunnels and snow forts!”
“We used to make tunnels, going through the snow to grandma and grandpa’s. It was so tall,” said Ashley Gleasman, of Boonville, NY.
“At this point, I can say that we haven't seen snow like this in 18-years,” said Rick Beyer, of Lowville, NY.
Why have winters in the North Country become less intense over the years? Some say it is climate change (check out this take from CBS News)... some say it is simply a weather pattern, but no matter what the final snow totals are come spring, the million dollar question remains: Will next-year's winter be worse, or back to mild?
Headline image via Ashley Gleasman: Ashley's daughter, Keira Kent, wonders how her family is going to clear a massive snow-drift blocking the doorway.
