The Weather Vein

Buffalo in July: A weather recap

Normal.

That's what the statistics compiled by the National Weather Service office at Buffalo Niagara International Airport show for July. The rainfall total at the airport, 2.80 inches, was actually slightly below normal.

But go a few miles north of Cheektowaga, and you might find a different story.

Widely scattered, but at times intense, showers were a staple the third week of the month, and the Weather Service reports that as much as 6 inches fell in places like Amherst and Clarence.

The monthly average temperature, 71.4 degrees, was just slightly above normal. The airport saw two-thirds of the available sunshine, which is almost exactly normal.

All those hit-and-miss storms  led to a bumper crop of thunderstorms. In June and July, the Weather Service reported 17 days with thunder. Normally there might be 11 or 12.

--- John F. Bonfatti

Sunnier than Orlando?

Buffalo sunnier than Orlando?

At least so far this year, that's true, according to weather service statistics.

Heading into today, Buffalo had 100 days with at least 50 percent  of the available sunshine. Orlando had 57.

I checked with the Buffalo office of the  National Weather Service and meteorologist in charge Tom Niziol told me that the office's sunshine figures are based on a photo sensor at the office, which is supplemented by observations by the forecasters.

The Orlando figures, according to a meteorologist I talked to at Accuweather, which assembles The News' weather page, come from the daily climate reports the National Weather Service puts out.

Of course, they'll have a chance to catch up toward the end of the year, when the clouds of fall and winter arrive.

--- John F. Bonfatti

May roundup

After the third-warmest April in the city's weather history, May turned out to be a letdown.

The month's average temperature was 53.4 degrees, which is 3.6 degrees below normal. Historically, there is a 12-degree difference in the average temperature for April and the average temperature for May. This year, it was 2.5 degrees, the smallest difference since 1945.

May even had fewer 70-degree days (7) than April (9). May's highest temperature was 75 degrees, and that's the lowest high temperature in May since 1997.

Monthly precipitation was 2.54 inches, and .95 inches of that came on the last day of the month. Normal May precipitatin is 3.35 inches.

Sunshine was also about eight percent above normal, with 66 percent of the available.

--- John F. Bonfatti   

March: The lion ate the lamb

The largest non-lake-effect snowstorm in 24 years highlighed the March weather for Western New York.

   The storm on the 7th and 8th dropped 14 to 22 inches across Buffalo Niagara. The snow contributed to a monthly precipitation total of 4.22 inches, about an inch and a quarter higher than average.

   The snow started four days after a 63-degree reading on the 3rd. The day after that, sleet and freezing rain foreshadowed the big storm.

   The average temperature of 31.6 was nearly three degrees below normal. That helped Lake Erie keep 40 percent of its ice cover.

   For a more detailed summary of the month's weather, for the National Weather Service's monthly climatological report.

  -- John F. Bonfatti

   

More snowfall stuff

The snow is melting but the Golden Snowball competition goes on.

The contest to be crowned Snow King of upstate New York is very tight, with Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse all in the running.

Both Buffalo (21.6 inches) and Rochester (15.7) benefited from the March 7-9 storms that mostly bypassed Syracuse (5.8).

But the Salt City remains in the lead with 108.3 inches. Rochester (101.9) and Buffalo (101.1) are neck-and-neck for No. 2. As for Binghamton and Albany ... well maybe next year.

The contest runs through the end of April and you can follow it at this Web site.

--- John F. Bonfatti

Seasonal snowfall totals

The National Weather Service has updated its snowfall totals with February's stats.

In Erie County, February's winners were North Boston (38 inches) and Eden (35 inches). That brought the seasonal total at both locations to 121 inches, the highest total in the county.

Some other high totals for the month were South Dayton (44 inches), Forestville (43 inches) and Darien Center (41 inches).

But the big winner, both for the month and the season, is the Cattaraugus County community of Perrysburg, where February brought a whopping 56 inches. The seasonal total there now stands at 170 inches.

The Big Meltdown

Not exactly sure what you get if you win — a "bundle" of Old Farmer's Almanac products, it says — but the folks who publish the Old Farmer's Almanac are running a "guess how long before the snowbank in our parking lot melts" contest.

Here's a link to the webcam in their parking lot in Dublin, N.H. The last date for entries is March 18. Good luck.

--- John F. Bonfatti

Snowfall totals

At the top of Tuesday's snowfall totals was, once again, Perrysburg, that northwest Cattaraugus locale at the top of the Chautauqua Ridge that historically gets a lot of snow. It got 13 inches.

Next was Mayville, in Chautauqua County, with 11. Most of the area received between four and seven inches.

--- John F. Bonfatti

Iced up

   The latest assessment of Lake Erie's ice coverage, from the National Ice Center, shows that almost all of Lake Erie is ice-covered now.

   That will serve to severely curtail any lake-effect snow in Western New York that might come from a cold pool of air currently in place over us. But with Lake Ontario remaining relatively open, the area from roughly Rochester to Oswego is expected to get two to four inches tonight.

   The overnight lows tonight will dip into the low teens to near 10, but Sunday, a brief fling with some warm southerly air will lift tempertures into the 40s.

-- John F. Bonfatti

Snowball battle

With snow forecast for pretty much all of upstate, all five cities in the Golden Snowball derby will get a chance to pad their totals today.

As of Monday, Syracuse led with 71 inches, which is nearly six inches below normal. Next is Rochester at 66.3 inches (a little more than two inches below normal), followed by Buffalo at 58.7 inches. Binghamton and Albany bring up the rear.

It may be hard to believe as you watch the snow fly this afternoon and evening, but Buffalo is almost a foot behind our normal snowfall total for this point in the winter.

-- John F. Bonfatti