University of Rochester - Weather

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

In a place where the average temperature for the year is 47 degrees, you can’t expect a Bahamas climate when you come to the University of Rochester. The biggest complaint is the cold, but Rochester is indeed located by the Great Lakes, just an hour or two away from our frozen neighbor to the north, Canada. The changeability of the weather can be annoying, with a large amount of variation in the temperature from one day to the next sometimes. There are beautiful days in the summer and fall, but once the winter descends upon Rochester, it seems as though it will never end. A lot of students from upstate New York are used to it, but those unfortunate few from Florida or Texas have quite an adjustment to make.

If you compromise on anything, the weather is it. Students have the tunnels to escape into and people hibernate for a good portion of the winter months, but you get used to the cold. The campus is actually quite pretty under a blanket of snow. Come April, you’re pretty tired of the white stuff and the perpetual “Rochester gray” sky, but you learn to deal. There’s a saying here: “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes, it’ll change,” and that’s the truth.

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Students Speak Out

snowedin87 says: University of Rochester 2013 History

It is cold, snowy, rainy, and grey... It is cold, snowy, rainy, and grey most of the academic year. However, the start and end of the academic year are beautiful, and everyone takes advantage of the weather. 12345 Weather: February 18, 2009 Report

Anonymous says:

Bring warm clothes. Rochester... Bring warm clothes. Rochester suffers from depressingly long, gray winters. They push everyone to the brink of unhappiness, combined with excessive workloads, and a lack of non-academic life, Rochester is a cold snowy place to suffer through studies. 12345 Weather Report

Anonymous says:

Comfort is the name of the game,... Comfort is the name of the game, and it does get cold. Somehow, everyone learns how to make jeans, sweaters, and boots look sexy—you don’t see people any other way, really. 12345 Weather Report

Anonymous says:

Rochester has two seasons: summer... Rochester has two seasons: summer and winter. Summer is the end of June, July, August, and the beginning of September. Other than that, it is cold! The campus is absolutely beautiful when it’s nice out and miserable when it’s buried under four feet of snow. Bring lots of warm clothes! 12345 Weather Report

Anonymous says:

The weather is cold from... The weather is cold from October–April, so bring lots of sweaters, a warm coat, gloves, and a hat. It snows a lot. The weather is the second worst thing about the school, second only to the administration. 12345 Weather Report

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