Buffalo’s monthly snowfall total was over two inches above average.

What You Need To Know

  • It got as hot as 84 degrees this April

  • The Buffalo Airport picked up a little less than half a foot of snow

  • Three records were tied or broken during the month

April marked the first full month of spring, but there were a few days where it felt more like summer across Western New York. The first couple of days were chilly with highs in the 30s, but temperatures really warmed up for the second week.

So much so that it was record-breaking.

Buffalo hit a high of 84 degrees on April 8, absolutely demolishing the old record of 75 from exactly 100 years ago. Temperatures briefly dipped down into the 70s the very next day, before shooting right back up into the 80s on the 10th.

It wasn’t enough to set a new record, but Buffalo’s high of 82 still tied the record from 1945. Keep in mind, Buffalo’s average high for that point in April was just in the low 50s.

Speaking of, the vast majority of the month saw above average temperatures. In fact, there were only seven separate days where Buffalo stayed below average.

The temperature averaged 48.3 degrees for the fourth month of 2021, which is 2.3 degrees above normal. That’s nearly 5 degrees warmer than last April’s average. 

Staying dry

While that was higher than normal, the same can’t be said for the amount of precipitation that fell. 2.77 inches of water stacked up during the month of April, which is roughly quarter of an inch below average. 

With another month of a precipitation deficit under Western New York’s belt, it should come as no surprise that most are considered to be under a moderate drought right now.

What did exceed expectations was the amount of snow that stuck. On average, the Buffalo Airport picks up about 2.7 inches of snow during the entire month of April.

Buffalo saw more than that on April 21 alone. The 3.1 inches that fell that day smashed the old record of 1.3 inches from 1934.

1.7 inches of snow fell the day before, with additional minor accumulations on April 1 and 22. In total, the airport measured 5.1 for the entire month, nearly twice the average.

Albeit unusual, it wasn’t enough to put April 2021 on Buffalo's top-10 list for snowiest Aprils. The lowest spot on that list belongs to 1990 with 9.9 inches.

Follow Meteorologist Christina Reis on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!