Buffalo climate
Buffalo (New York, United States) has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). The average temperature over the year is 9 °C49 °F, and about 947 mm37 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Buffalo climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | −131 | −720 | −425 | 642.5 | 28 |
| Feb | 032 | −720 | −326 | 572.2 | 27 |
| Mar | 541 | −326 | 133 | 632.5 | 24 |
| Apr | 1253 | 235 | 744 | 813.2 | 11 |
| May | 1965 | 847 | 1356 | 853.4 | 0 |
| Jun | 2475 | 1458 | 1966 | 873.4 | 0 |
| Jul | 2781 | 1864 | 2373 | 913.6 | 0 |
| Aug | 2780 | 1763 | 2272 | 793.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 2374 | 1356 | 1865 | 873.4 | 0 |
| Oct | 1559 | 745 | 1152 | 983.9 | 0 |
| Nov | 847 | 134 | 541 | 753.0 | 12 |
| Dec | 236 | −326 | 031 | 803.1 | 25 |
| Year | 2781 | −720 | 949 | 94737 | 128 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total. Frost days are for the whole grid cell.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 88% | 85% | 1.4 | 9:21 |
| Feb | 87% | 82% | 2.1 | 10:28 |
| Mar | 83% | 74% | 3.3 | 11:48 |
| Apr | 79% | 69% | 4.4 | 13:20 |
| May | 77% | 65% | 5.4 | 14:37 |
| Jun | 74% | 61% | 5.9 | 15:20 |
| Jul | 70% | 56% | 5.9 | 15:02 |
| Aug | 70% | 56% | 5.2 | 13:55 |
| Sep | 72% | 57% | 4.1 | 12:26 |
| Oct | 78% | 70% | 2.5 | 10:57 |
| Nov | 82% | 75% | 1.6 | 9:40 |
| Dec | 87% | 85% | 1.1 | 9:02 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Buffalo is like
The warmest month is July, with an average high of 27 °C81 °F and a low of 18 °C64 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average −1 °C31 °F and lows −7 °C20 °F. Seasons are strongly marked: the warmest month is on average 26.2 °C47.1 °F warmer than the coldest.
Annual precipitation is moderate at about 947 mm37 in. Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year. The wettest month is October (98 mm3.9 in), the driest is February (57 mm2.2 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 70% in August to 88% in January. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 56%) are typical of August. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 4 km/h (3 mph) in June to 11 km/h (7 mph) in January. Daylight lasts from about 9.0 hours in December to 15.3 hours in June.
A lasting snow cover is typical in December–March, when the average snow depth in the reanalysis exceeds 10 cm (deepest in January, about 17 cm).
Best time to visit Buffalo
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are June–September: average highs of 23 °C74 °F to 27 °C81 °F with 79 mm3.1 in to 91 mm3.6 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is January, which is cold, with average highs of −1 °C31 °F.
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
What to pack for Buffalo
- Winter (December–February) — highs −131 to 2 °C36 °F, lows −720 to −3 °C26 °F, about 67 mm2.6 in of precipitation a month. Pack a winter coat, hat, gloves and warm, non-slip boots and shoes with good grip, as frost is common.
- Spring (March–May) — highs 541 to 19 °C65 °F, lows −326 to 8 °C47 °F, about 76 mm3.0 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket.
- Summer (June–August) — highs 2475 to 27 °C81 °F, lows 1458 to 18 °C64 °F, about 86 mm3.4 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses.
- Autumn (September–November) — highs 847 to 23 °C74 °F, lows 134 to 13 °C56 °F, about 87 mm3.4 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket.
How Buffalo compares
Compared with Toronto, about 100 km to the northwest, Buffalo is on average 0.6 °C1.2 °F warmer and receives 22% more precipitation (947 mm37 in vs 774 mm30 in). The difference is largest in May (2.6 °C4.6 °F warmer).
Of the 222 places in the United States covered by World Climates, Buffalo is the 207th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 118th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the United States climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: St. Catharines (Canada, Dfa), Brantford (Canada, Dfa) and Windsor (Canada, Dfa).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Amherst (pop. 122,366). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Buffalo, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- St. Catharines 43 km · 10 °C50 °F · 872 mm34 in
- Toronto 100 km · 9 °C48 °F · 774 mm30 in
- Rochester 107 km · 9 °C49 °F · 948 mm37 in
- Ajax 108 km · 9 °C48 °F · 719 mm28 in
- Oshawa 113 km · 9 °C47 °F · 719 mm28 in
- Markham 113 km · 8 °C47 °F · 723 mm28 in
- Brampton 114 km · 8 °C47 °F · 770 mm30 in
- Brantford 116 km · 9 °C48 °F · 791 mm31 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Buffalo?
July is the warmest month in Buffalo, with an average high of 27 °C (81 °F) and an average low of 18 °C (64 °F).
What is the coldest month in Buffalo?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of -1 °C (31 °F) and an average low of -7 °C (20 °F).
When does it rain the most in Buffalo?
October is the wettest month with about 98 mm (3.9 in) of precipitation; February is the driest with about 57 mm (2.2 in).
What is the best time to visit Buffalo?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are June–September.
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.