Binghamton receives record breaking Christmas weather

(BINGHAMTON N.Y) It is no secret that the weather in Upstate New York is unpredictable. The month of December 2020 has been no different. Just one week before Christmas, Binghamton made national news, and trended top 10 on twitter for a record breaking snow-storm. Binghamton received 4 feet of snow in less than 24 hours. The storm left many vehicles buried for days, businesses closed, and some trapped in their homes due to the amount of snow at their doorstep. There were also reports of one death, due to a heart attack resulting from excessive shoveling. A local sports complex dome collapsed under the pressure of four feet of snow. Owners of the building said the snow simply came down too hard and “too fast”. Similar amounts of snow in the past have typically come over the timespan of 2-3 days. This extreme snow came overnight, which created a weight too great for the inflatable dome to withstand. However, the snow did not linger around for long. On Christmas Eve, the temperatures spiked to 55 degrees, accompanied by heavy rain. It rained for approximately 24 hours, starting from the morning of Christmas Eve Day until the morning of Christmas Day. This raised a ton of concerns for local meteorologists. A state of emergency was issued as officials warned of flash flooding and more collapsing roofs from both the rapid snowmelt and incoming rain. Rivers overflowed, reaching a high of about 25 feet, which forced some businesses to close yet again. A manager at a local Applebee’s said she had to close the restaurant down at about 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve to avoid employees being trapped inside by the rising flood waters. After a tumultuous year, many are saying this extraordinary weather served as a grand finale here in Upstate New York.