Your nature year
Syracuse, New Yorkthrough the year
Also for Binghamton, NY, Ithaca, NY, Elmira, NY: the same nearby places.
When do frost, green-up and fall color come to Syracuse?
Head southwest for the closest of the 16 places we follow around Syracuse. The closest place we follow is Ithaca, 45 miles away, for fall foliage, usually well under way by mid-October (statewide). At NOAA's Syracuse Hancock International Airport station, 5.2 miles away, the average first fall frost is Oct 19 and the last spring frost Apr 29, which leaves Syracuse some 173 growing days. The USA-NPN spring index puts first leaf here around Apr 11 and first bloom around May 10. Syracuse sits at about 403 feet. Across New York, fall color is usually well under way by mid-October.
Updated Sep 28. Sources: US Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer (places) ↗ (opens in a new tab), US Census Bureau, city and town population estimates, 2024 ↗ (opens in a new tab), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (annual/seasonal) ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Syracuse's year at a glance
- Frost possible
- Frost-free, ~Apr 29 to ~Oct 19
- First leaf ~Apr 11
- First bloom ~May 10
- Fall color under way ~Oct 20 (NY)
- Today
Near Syracuse right now
- Fall color is usually well under way by mid-October in New YorkStatewide · USA-NPN volunteer observations, 2020–2025 · not a forecast~3 weeks
- First fall frost usually around Oct 19 · last spring frost around Apr 29NOAA 1991–2020 normals, Syracuse Hancock International Airport (5.2 mi, 50% dates)~3 weeks
- Fall foliage · Ithaca · 45 miStatewide: usually well under way by mid-October~3 weeks
Syracuse's nature year
- Spring green-upApr
- Last spring frostApr
- Fall color (NY)Oct
- First fall frostOct
Nearby, season by season
Fall foliage
- Ithaca · 45 miStatewide: usually well under way by mid-October~3 weeks
- Finger Lakes National Forest · 53 miStatewide: usually well under way by mid-October~3 weeks
- Thousand Islands · 90 miStatewide: usually well under way by mid-October~3 weeks
Snow in Syracuse
Snow usually becomes possible around Nov 4 (our calculation from NOAA's daily snow chances: the first day the chance of 0.1" or more of snow reaches 10%). NOAA's normals at Syracuse Hancock International Airport (5.2 mi away): 128 inches of snow in an average year, about 34.1 days with 1 inch or more.
NOAA's chance of at least 0.1 inch of snow on each date (one value per week, September to May), averaged over 1991–2020. A typical year, not a forecast.
Frost and green-up
Last spring frost
Apr 29
Average (50% date)
First fall frost
Oct 19
About 173 days without frost between
Spring green-up
Apr 11
First bloom around May 10
Frost: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals at Syracuse Hancock International Airport (5.2 mi from Syracuse), the day a 32 °F night is as likely as not. Green-up: the USA-NPN Spring Index, 1991–2020 average at the town.
Questions people ask
When is the first frost in Syracuse?
On average around Oct 19, and the last spring frost around Apr 29: about 173 days without frost between. These are NOAA's 1991–2020 normals at Syracuse Hancock International Airport, 5.2 miles away (the day a 32 °F night is as likely as not).
When does spring green-up reach Syracuse?
The USA-NPN Spring Index puts first leaf around Apr 11 and first bloom around May 10, on average for 1991–2020 at the town.
Where can I see fall foliage near Syracuse?
Ithaca, 45 miles (statewide: usually well under way by mid-October); Finger Lakes National Forest, 53 miles (statewide: usually well under way by mid-October); Thousand Islands, 90 miles (statewide: usually well under way by mid-October). Distances are straight-line.
When does it start snowing in Syracuse?
Snow usually becomes possible around Nov 4: our calculation from NOAA's daily snow chances: the first day the chance of 0.1" or more of snow reaches 10%, at Syracuse Hancock International Airport. An average year brings 128 inches (NOAA 1991–2020). A typical year, not a forecast.Sources: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (annual/seasonal snowfall) ↗ (opens in a new tab), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (daily snowfall probabilities) ↗ (opens in a new tab)
How we know
US Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer (places) (opens in a new tab) (Sep 27) · US Census Bureau, city and town population estimates, 2024 (opens in a new tab) (Sep 27) · NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (annual/seasonal) (opens in a new tab) (Sep 27) · USA National Phenology Network, Spring Index 1991–2020 averages (opens in a new tab) (Sep 27) · USA National Phenology Network, colored leaves observations (opens in a new tab) (Sep 28)