VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Snow tires are advised in CNY after Syracuse’s Golden Snowball campaign
Khiary Gayle: Snow is the absolute here. We answer to the snow.
Joseph Duffey: Lifelong Syracuse resident Khiary Gayle is bracing for the snowfall to come. The historic snowstorm of 2007 was the last straw after being blinded on his way to work.Snow tires have become essential he says, as well as life-saving.
Gayle: Luckily enough, I was safe and was able to get to work safely. But I always think about how bad it could have been and how I was still running on the all-seasons. So, to pump your brakes like that and have to skid would be entirely just catastrophic.
Duffey: Monro Auto Service and Tire Center Repair Owns places like Mr. Tire behind me. And while these seasonal items appear very available and necessary for the snowfall to come, discounts depend on the store.
Duffey: Zach Lawrence is Mr. Tire’s manager in Fairmount. Because of the recent fall tempereatures, Lawrence says the uptick in snow tire requests is nothing unusual for this time of the year.
Zach Lawrence: For my shop, normally at the start of October, we start planning on ordering some in and getting customers notified, ‘Hey snow’s coming,’ so that we don’t have it all at once as a rush.
Duffey: Lawrence says it may surprise people that these seasonal commodities can average $102 to $150 per tire. Insurance companies such as Triple-A are also unlikely to cover the price of the rubber. But some auto shops like Lawrence’s Mr. Tire in Fairmount have deals.
Lawrence: A lot of times, we do a lot of sales in October, and we’re doing a Black Friday month this year, so we get a lot of discounts that way. Nothing that I’ve seen with any insurance companies giving any specific discounts. Definitely military if need be. We always take care of them.
Duffey: Temperatures in Syracuse will continue to creep down but there are plenty of shops that can replace tires. Auto shops teams led by managers like Zach are answering the call….
…helping people to not ride…on thin ice. Joseph Duffey, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Central New York residents and auto workers advise car owners to get their yearly snow tires after recent fall temperatures have signaled impending snowfall.
The city of Syracuse reclaimed the Golden Snowball in late July after 115 inches of snowfall, defeating second-place Rochester (88 inches) for most snowfall in Upstate New York.
The Golden Snowball competition began after the Blizzard of 1977. The annual competitors are Buffalo, Binghamton, Albany, Rochester and Syracuse.
Khiary Gayle, a lifelong Syracuse resident, remembers the historic snowstorm from 2006-07. The heavy, 232.5 inch snowfall was enough to make Gayle commit to snow tires after being blinded on his way to work.
“Snow is the absolute here. We answer to the snow,” Gayle said. “Luckily enough, I was safe and was able to get to work safely. But I always think about how bad it could have been and how I was still running on the all-seasons. So, to pump your brakes like that and have to skid would be entirely just catastrophic.”
Zach Lawrence, manager of a Mr. Tire Auto Service Centers in Fairmount, offered the same advice. Lawrence has warned people to make early changes to their tires and is already helping customers in the Halloween month.
“For my shop, normally at the start of October, we start planning on ordering some in and getting customers notified, ‘Hey snow’s coming,’ so that we don’t have it all at once as a rush,” Lawrence said.
According to Lawrence, these seasonal commodities can average $102 to $150 per tire. However, similar to other shops, there are discounts that his team provides.
“A lot of times, we do a lot of sales in October, and we’re doing a Black Friday month this year, so we get a lot of discounts that way,” Lawrence said. “[There’s] nothing that I’ve seen with any insurance companies giving any specific discounts. Definitely military if need be. We always take care of them.”
Temperatures around Syracuse will continue to drop and snow tires are advised for travelers after Syracuse’s 2024-25 Golden Snowball campaign.