Horseheads Webcam – Check the Sky Over the Southern Tier

The Horseheads Webcam is the Horseheads Sky Cam run by WENY News, set high at the station’s studios on Old Ithaca Road in the Town of Horseheads, New York. It looks west-southwest straight down Old Ithaca Road, a two-lane road with a yellow center line and a tall row of utility poles along its left side, as it heads toward the village. Houses and lawns line both sides, a neighborhood spreads out to the right, and a small yellow commercial building with a red awning sits at the foot of the frame. Beyond the rooftops a long wooded ridge closes off the horizon, and the wide band of sky above it makes this a handy view for checking the weather. In mid-October the trees along the road turn red, orange and gold.

About Horseheads

Horseheads lies in Chemung County, in New York’s Southern Tier, just north of Elmira. The camera stands in Horseheads North, a census-designated place of 2,761 people at the 2020 census on the northern side of the town, close to where Old Ithaca Road meets Routes 13 and 223. From here Old Ithaca Road runs toward Hanover Square, the center of the village of Horseheads, about 3 kilometers (2 miles) to the southwest, and downtown Elmira is about 11 kilometers (7 miles) to the south. Route 13 heads the other way, northeast through Ithaca and Cortland.

The name goes back to September 1779. General John Sullivan’s army, marching back south after its campaign against the Loyalists and their Iroquois allies, had to destroy a large number of sick and worn-out pack horses here. The Iroquois later collected the skulls and set them in a line along the trail, and the spot became known as the Valley of the Horses’ Heads. The village was once a port on the Chemung Canal, was incorporated as Fairport, took back the Horseheads name in 1845 and spent 1885 to 1886 as North Elmira.

The village of Horseheads, home to 6,606 people in 2020, sits about 273 meters (896 feet) above sea level on a low point of the St. Lawrence Continental Divide. Newtown Creek, which forms part of the southeast edge of Horseheads North, flows south to the Chemung River and on to the Susquehanna, while the northernmost part of the village drains north to Catharine Creek and Seneca Lake. The wider town, which takes in most of Elmira Heights, had 19,412 residents.

Weather and Climate in Horseheads

NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals for Elmira, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) to the south, are a good guide to what the camera sees. January is the coldest month, with average highs near 1 C (34 F) and lows around -9 C (16 F). Snow totals about 106 centimeters (42 inches) in an average season, and March is usually the snowiest month at about 28 centimeters (11 inches), so winter views can show white lawns and a pale ridge for weeks. Spring warms quickly, with April highs averaging 15 C (59 F) and May reaching 22 C (71 F). Recorded extremes since 1894 run from -31 C (-24 F) to 42 C (107 F).

July is the warmest month, with highs around 29 C (84 F) and lows near 15 C (58 F). Rain is spread across the year, about 967 millimeters (38 inches) in total, and June through September are the wettest months at roughly 97 to 106 millimeters (3.8 to 4.2 inches) each. October highs average 17 C (62 F) and lows 4 C (39 F), the season when the trees along Old Ithaca Road change color. Daylight runs from just over 9 hours at the winter solstice to just over 15 hours in late June, and because the camera faces roughly west, the sky over the ridge can light up at sunset.

Things to Do Near Horseheads

Follow Old Ithaca Road into the village and it ends near Hanover Square, a National Register historic district where most of the brick commercial blocks, with their decorative corbelling, went up between 1862 and 1882, after a fire in 1862 destroyed much of the old business district. A boulder left by a glacier sits in the middle of the square. A few blocks away, Teal Park holds the Zim Bandstand, designed in 1910 by the political cartoonist Eugene Zimmerman, and the park has hosted a Saturday farmers market and a Thursday concert series in summer. Zimmerman’s 1890 Queen Anne style home beside the park, the Zim House, can be toured by appointment through the Horseheads Historical Society.

Aviation is the area’s other draw. The Wings of Eagles Discovery Center, an aviation museum at Elmira Corning Regional Airport, is about 11 kilometers (7 miles) west-southwest of the camera. The National Soaring Museum sits on Harris Hill, where the first 13 National Soaring Contests were flown between 1930 and 1946, and it keeps a large collection of vintage gliders. In Elmira, Mark Twain and his family are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Eldridge Park has a restored 1890s Looff carousel, and the Arnot Art Museum stands downtown. Route 14 runs north from Horseheads to Watkins Glen in the Finger Lakes.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More cameras from New York, from the Finger Lakes to the edge of Buffalo:

• Farm Sanctuary Webcam
• Cornell Hawks Webcam
• West Seneca Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Horseheads Webcam located?

The camera is at the WENY News studios on Old Ithaca Road in Horseheads North, part of the Town of Horseheads in Chemung County, New York. It is about 3 kilometers (2 miles) northeast of Hanover Square in the village and about 11 kilometers (7 miles) north of downtown Elmira.

What can you see on the Horseheads Webcam?

Old Ithaca Road runs away from the camera toward the village, lined with utility poles, houses and lawns, with a small yellow building with a red awning in the foreground. A long wooded ridge fills the horizon under a wide band of sky.

What is the weather like in Horseheads?

Winters are cold and snowy, with January highs near 1 C (34 F) and about 106 centimeters (42 inches) of snow a season. Summers are warm, with July highs around 29 C (84 F), and rain falls in every month.

How did Horseheads get its name?

In September 1779, General John Sullivan’s returning army destroyed many exhausted pack horses here. The Iroquois lined the skulls along the trail, and the area became known as the Valley of the Horses’ Heads.

Who runs the Horseheads Sky Cam?

WENY News, the Twin Tiers news station based on Old Ithaca Road, runs it as one of the Sky Cams on its weather cameras page. The video is hosted by Brownrice Internet.

When does it snow in Horseheads?

Snow can fall from November into April. December, January and February each average more than 20 centimeters (8 inches), and March is usually the snowiest month at about 28 centimeters (11 inches).

Source: WENY News