Buffalo, New York

: See Buffalo for other places with this name.

Climate

Buffalo has a perhaps undeserved reputation for severe weather. In fact, Buffalo is the sunniest and driest of any major city in the Northeast in the summer, but still receives enough rain to keep vegetation green and lush. Of course, this causes the area to be quite humid in late summer, which is why many residents have backyard pools and air conditioners, a fact that surprises many visitors, who expect Buffalo is all about snow and cold.

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Winters are a bit longer than in other areas, and due to the lake effect, Buffalo averages more snowfall than most northern cities, but they are not extremely cold and include frequent thaws and rain as well. Ski country south of Buffalo receives about twice the amount of snow as the metro area each winter, making it one of the best winter recreation centers in the northeastern USA.

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The occasionally heavy snowfall in the region is caused by below-freezing winds blowing over the warmer water of Lake Erie. Often the resulting meandering "snow belts" are only ten or fifteen miles wide, with sun shining in one spot and raging lake effect snow falling only a mile or two away. Lake Erie is much shallower than the other Great Lakes, and usually freezes over in the winter. When this occurs, lake effect snowfall ends. Perhaps the best known snow storm in Buffalo history is the Blizzard of '77. The city is an annual competitor for the Golden Snowball Award between large Upstate cities.

Related Topics:
Great Lakes - Blizzard of '77 - Golden Snowball Award

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