The familiar sounds of winter can be heard across Western New York.

Though the season's first widespread snowfall may have caught some a little off guard.

"I saw it coming in originally and I'm thinking 'Oh it's not going to be too bad.' And then all of a sudden I woke up the next morning it was this,” said Marilla resident Tim Reinhardt.

The snow came just in time for his 60th birthday. He’s taking the six inches of snow that fell around his house in stride.

"I think it was about three years ago we had seven feet, close to seven feet. Unfortunately it did a little damage to my roof and stuff but we cleared that all up."

In Buffalo and the Northtowns, the snow didn't make much of an appearance before Friday morning. 

“It aggravates me, but I’ve lived in Hamburg my whole life and I’m not going to move. It is what it is. You deal with the snow and you get it. You hear everybody in the Northtowns saying, ‘Oh. We have a dusting.’ My dad lives in the Northtowns, and he says, ‘I got nothing,’” said Hamburg resident Michael Grimaldi.

Ace Hardware in Hamburg was busy throughout the day with people stocking up on shovels, snow brushes and parts for their snowblowers.

“It started about 10 o’clock in the morning. And it started to get heavier throughout the day. We started plowing here with about a foot in the driveway about 11 o’clock,” said Jim Ziomek, Ace Hardware manager.

And the temperature was dropping throughout the day. After the snow stopped, the wind because the issue, picking up and gusting at times, but crews in Hamburg were able to keep up with the snow to keep the roads clear for the most part.

As for the “Northtowns,” officials from the New York State Thruway Authority and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown say their highway crews are prepared for icy roads when precipitation does start to accumulate. 

The Thruway Authority has 38,000 tons of salt on hand while Buffalo has 9,000 tons of salt in its barn on Broadway. 

City leaders say the Buffalo Fire Department also has several pieces of equipment at its disposal, like snowmobiles and ATVs.

"The timing is crucial on snow. So the key is to be ready at any moment to make any changes and I'm very confident we can do that,” Public Works Commissioner Steve Stepniak said.

Stepniak says the strategy is all part of the city's snowstorm management plan, and is advising motorists to allow extra time to get to their destination.