Electronic Highways
Buffalo’s beautiful winter weather
Snow has only recently started to fall in Western New York, but already it is making headlines. Did you know, however, that our first recordable snowfall of the year on Nov. 26 marked the longest snow drought—at 271 days—since 1946? That is the second-longest stretch without snow since the current recording system began. Winters can be cumbersome in Buffalo, but they are rarely as extreme as their reputation.
To check on our daily and weekly forecasts, there are several reliable places to look. The Weather Channel is a good starting point. Enter your zip code for custom local weather and the site will save the setting for your next visit. AccuWeather is another great source for both local and national weather, including radar.
WIVB is an excellent local weather source. It features the latest weather alerts, a current forecast video clip and a weather blog. The National Weather Service provides a Daily Climate Report for Buffalo; click on the Local Data/Records tab at the top to view monthly snowfall and rainfall information for our region. This site also includes a holiday climatology feature to check forecast records on all major holidays.
Is Buffalo the snowiest city in the country, or at least in New York state? It is not. Although Buffalo is featured as one of the cities competing in the New York State Golden Snowball Award blog for highest snowfall in the state, its normal average snowfall is well behind that of Syracuse, and even Rochester. The creators of BuffaloResearch.com examine this further, positing that Buffalo is not even among the top 10 snowiest cities in the country.
Are you now curious enough to explore our weather further? The UB Libraries guide to Weather & Climates Resources provides a wide range of additional online resources. The Libraries online catalog, BISON, also serves as a gateway to traditional books on weather-related subjects. Lockwood Library houses a few interesting titles, such as “Buffalo Buried: The Blizzard of ’77” by Katy Kline and Carol Nash, and “Buffalo Gal: A Memoir,” by Laura Pedersen, who writes about growing up in Buffalo, devoting a chapter to the blizzard of 1977.
The University Archives in Capen Hall also owns some interesting pictorial works, such as “White Death: Blizzard of ’77” by Erno Rossi, and “Frozen Assets: The Beautiful Truth About Western New York’s Fourth Season by Mark Donnelly. Enter these titles in BISON to find out more and to obtain their call numbers.
Enjoy the beauty of winter and stay warm!
—Tiffany Walsh, Arts and Sciences Libraries
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