BUFFALO, N.Y. — In-between two impressive lake effect events, windy winter storms and a couple of cold snaps, Western New York's 2020-2021 winter season ended up with below normal snowfall and a trend of above average temperatures.
Let's start with snow.
Buffalo's seasonal total for this past winter is 77.2 inches, the 61st least snowiest season on record. That's almost 20 inches below the climatological average for the season.
One of the highest snow totals from Western New York this winter was in Springville with 151.8 inches. In general, the highest snowfall was centered across southern Erie County, eastern Wyoming County and the Chautauqua Ridge in Chautauqua County with totals ranging from 100 to 150 inches.
There were also seven lake effect events that impacted Western New York from November through February. Most were centered across ski country, which is one reason why Springville ranked in the highest snow total for the winter. The region was the bullseye of four of the seven main lake effect events this winter.
A standout event from this season was the Christmas Lake Effect Snowstorm. This event impacted the city and northtowns from December 25 through 27, 2020 where 18 to 24 inches of snow fell from one prominent band of lake effect over a 36 hour period. A new daily snowfall record was set in the city during this event. 18.4 inches fell at the Buffalo Airport on Saturday December 26, 2020, setting a new daily snowfall record.
Next up is temperatures
With a La Niña influence this past winter, it's no surprise that temperatures were slightly above normal throughout the 2020-2021 winter season. So much so, that from November 2020 to March 2021 ranks within the top 10 warmest for Buffalo. 7th to be exact with an average temperature 39.4 degrees. In addition, temperatures never fell below 0 degrees this past winter in Buffalo.
And while it was impressive that there was little to no thaw for much of Western New York this past winter, springtime warmth arrived early this year. March of 2021 ranks as the 10th warmest on record for the month in Buffalo and 5th for least least snow with only 0.6 inches falling during the entire month.
Above findings are based on the 2020-2021 Winter Summary released by the National Weather Service Office in Buffalo, NY.
