Winter in Plattsburgh: The Cold, Hard Facts

February 14, 2012

This winter, we asked our Facebook fans “What does ‘Plattsburgh cold’ mean?” and 76 responded with memories like these:

“I remember ‘squeaky’ snow and snow banks so high you couldn't see the road from the sidewalks.” — Carol Rheal-Breault ’59.

“I remember my jeans would literally freeze when walking to class. Then, half-way through class, all the snow on your boots would melt, making your backpack and everything around you wet, only to head back outside for next class to repeat the cycle.” — Deanna Fiegal Bevan ’96.

“The ice being so thick on my steps that I couldn't open my front door. Ah, the good ol' days.” — Suzanne Young ’98.

So many people shared their frozen memories that we decided to look up the stats. Here are the cold, hard facts from weather.com:

The coldest month: January.
Average January high: 27 degrees.
Average January low: 10 degrees.
Record low: -31 degrees in 1994.
Average precipitation in January and February: 1.79 and 1.48 inches, respectively.