Climate
Buffalo, although most famous for its winters, has four very pronounced seasons.
In the first half of winter, beginning in approximately November, the city can get lake-effect snow: cold winds blowing over the warmer waters of Lake Erie pick up a lot of water vapor, which is dumped as snow as soon as they reach land. This usually ends in January, when the lake finally freezes over. Contrary to popular myth, however, Buffalo is not the coldest or snowiest city in the country—or even in New York. The Buffalo airport averages 93 inches 236cm of snow per winter. On average Buffalo only has 3 days per year where the recorded temperature dips below 0ºF -18ºC. Buffalo's snowy reputation is based in large part on some of its most famous storms: The Blizzard of '77, and the October Storm of 2006, both which received a lot of media coverage; however, neither is a normal occurrence in the average Buffalo winter.
Spring is rainy and cool up through the end of April. The temperatures can fluctuate wildly in March and April. It is not unusual to see snow one day, and a temperature in the mid-60s Fahrenheit almost 20ºC the next.
Summer tends to be very comfortable and sunny. The moderating effects of Lake Erie have allowed Buffalo to be one of very few places in the United States where the temperature has never reached 100ºF 38ºC. Most summer days are in the 70s or 80s Fahrenheit 25-30ºC with evenings in the comfortable mid-60s Fahrenheit slightly below 20ºC. On average Buffalo has 60 days a year with temperatures reaching over 80°F 27ºC. Buffalo has more sunny summer days than any other major city in the Northeastern U.S.
Fall is warm and beautiful as well. The temperature usually stays warm enough through mid November, and one can watch the trees change colors in comfort. The days are warm, the nights are cool, and the first frost doesn't usually come until well after Halloween. Leaf hunters will be pleased with the number of trees Buffalo is also one of the most tree-filled cities in the nation! as well as in the surrounding areas.
Movies
The first purpose-built, permanent motion-picture theater in the world, the Vitascope Theater, was opened in Buffalo's Ellicott Square Building on October 19, 1896 by Mitchel and Moe Mark. The Mark brothers went on to build the world's first Movie Palace, the Mark-Strand Theater, in New York City in 1914.
Thomas Edison sent camera crews to Buffalo in 1896, making it one of the first cities in America to appear in the movies. Edison also had the Pan-American Exposition filmed in 1901.
More than 100 films have been made in Buffalo and the surrounding area over the last century including:
The Natural Directed by Barry Levinson, 1984. Robert Redford and Glenn Close star in Bernard Malmud's baseball fantasy about Roy Hobbs, a mysterious baseball player, who appears out of nowhere to turn around the fortunes of a 1930's team.
Best Friends Directed by Norman Jewison, 1982 Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn play a couple whose lives turn upside-down when -- after years of living and working together -- they decide to get married.
Hide in Plain Sight Directed by Leslie Waller, 1980 Based on a true story. A working-class husband James Caan tries to tracks down his wife and children who are hidden away by a witness protection program.
Buffalo '66 Directed by Vincent Gallo, 1998 A man getting out of jail vows to track down the Buffalo Bills kicker who ruined his life.
Under the aegis of the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission, an embryonic film industry has developed in the area which is beginning to produce some quality independent features. The Keanu Reeves romantic comedy, Henry's Crime, and the action film Unstoppable starring Denzel Washington, are two of the movies that were filmed partly or completely in Buffalo thanks to the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission.