University at Buffalo - Weather

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

Unless you live in a cave, you’ve probably seen this image on the Weather Channel: out-of-town correspondent reports on a Buffalo blizzard from just outside the city (she can’t get in because of the driving ban). She’s barely visible through sheets of snow. Maybe her hat blows off and disappears into the maelstrom. Buffalo’s lake effect “snow events” are legendary—12 feet of snow fell in one week in 2001, and a drive-time storm in 2000 left thousands stranded in their cars. But blizzards are fun for most students who sit in their cozy dorms or houses and celebrate with beer and hot chocolate, emerging the next morning to explore the new landscape.

The thing students loathe about Buffalo winters is that they last forever. Buffalo school kids get used to wearing parkas over their ghost costumes on Halloween, and the cold, wind, and snow don’t stop until they search for Easter baskets in April. Many students get to know winter’s fun side. Nearly 3,000 of them join Schussmeisters, a ski club with nightly buses to gorgeous ski resorts an hour south of the city. But a majority of students hate the winter, especially the bleakest days, when the day never quite wrestles free from the night. Spring is short and rainy in Buffalo. Summers are magnificent; there is more sun and less rain than any city in the Northeast. Longtime Buffalo residents wax poetic about harsh winters and how the four seasons benefit the soul. But Buffalo’s winter is like a high school summer job. It seems like fun looking back, but when you’re in the middle of it, you just want it to be over so you can go to the beach.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

Bring three coats: one for the... Bring three coats: one for the below zero days, one for the high 20s days, and one for the days when Old Man Winter’s hold is waning and the temperature climbs into the 50s. For the love of all that is good, please don’t break out the shorts until it is at least 60 degrees. And even if you’ve done a bit of pre-gaming and feel like you have the fire inside, don’t walk down to the Main Street bars in a tank top when it is 10 degrees outside. Warm is always more attractive than dead. 12345 Weather Report

Anonymous says:

People who complain are just... People who complain are just wusses. Get over it! If you don’t like the cold, quit complaining and move to Florida. 12345 Weather Report

Anonymous says:

Buffalo has the absolute worst... Buffalo has the absolute worst possible combination of wind and freezing temperatures. I can recall some times when the wind was so harsh you could not walk up hills because you were blown backwards. 12345 Weather Report

hiahmed2 says: University at Buffalo 2013 Other

Snows a Lot, Very Temperate Whether, Cold B+ Overall not bad, but don't prefer it over other places 12345 Weather: March 08, 2010 Report

Anonymous says:

For the most part, the weather is... For the most part, the weather is decent up until winter break, but by the time you come back for spring semester, the temperatures are in the single digits, and the snow keeps falling until finals week. The best thing to do is just layer up and wear lots of hats, gloves, and scarves. 12345 Weather Report

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