The Golden Snowball Award is an annual award presented to the Upstate New York city that receives the most snowfall in a season. The original award was the result of a friendly competition of National Weather Service offices in Upstate. After the Rochester and Syracuse offices closed in the mid-1990s, the competition died out.

The award was revived during the 2002-2003 snowfall season, in which Syracuse won. It has won every year since then as well. The prize is accompanied by a ceremonial Dollar|$" target="_blank" >^*100 check to one of that city's school's hat and mitten drive.

In contrast, New York City's annual snow average is a relatively small 2-3 feet per year in the city and about 3-4 feet per year in nearby suburbs (ironically, for the first time ever, during the 2005-06 winter season the city had more snowfall than Albany, mainly due to the Blizzard of 2006, which was the city's biggest snowfall ever while Albany was on the extreme northern fringe).

The cities that compete for the award are

• Albany
• Binghamton
• Buffalo
• Rochester
• Syracuse

Several smaller cities now also compete for a smaller award, that includes a $50 check. These are:

• Fulton
• Oswego
• Utica
• Watertown

The possibility exists that the smaller city competition will be terminated next year. Utica was not a part of the original Golden Snowball contest as it did not have a National Weather Service office, which is why it is not part of the current $100 prize contest. Utica's population is actually greater than Binghamton's by about 13,000. This has led to a poll and discussion on if Utica should be in contention for the $100 prize.

Winners of the Golden Snowball

• 2002-2003: Syracuse
• 2003-2004: Syracuse
• 2004-2005: Syracuse
• 2005-2006: Syracuse

References

See also

External links

• The Golden Snowball Award

Ironic and humorous awards | New York