While the November temperatures are warm, the possibility that some students may soon learn how unprepared they are for the Buffalo winter is still around the corner. Unlike the rest of New York, Buffalo is positioned next to Lake Erie, creating a lake-effect that produces cold biting winds and dumps mounds of snow on the city.
To help first-timers battle the cold, the professionals certainly have something to say.
Jamea Edwards, Rebecca Korsh and Eleanor Bares have lived in Buffalo all their lives, a combined sixty-one years, and have mastered its winters. They’ve experienced some of the coldest temperatures, darkest days and most blinding blizzards.
Especially to the incoming freshman, don’t underestimate Buffalo’s winter weather, Edwards says.
“The aspect of winter weather freshmen will be unprepared for is how bad the snow and cold is,” Edwards said. “And how UB will, most likely, not cancel class on days they should be canceled.”
The best way to ensure a comfortable commute, Korsh, Edwards and Bares all agree, is dressing appropriately.
“Invest in good cold weather clothes if you can, and label them,” Korsh, a senior physics major, says. “Good gloves with your name in them, in case you lose one, can really make a difference.”
Bares, a Buffalonian, agrees that a good pair of gloves is a must, saying “extremities go first.” Edwards offers a longer list of winter clothes students need including long johns, a good pair of boots and a good coat.
Edwards, also, encourages students to find warm pockets during their commute.
“Knowing that the campus provides shuttles and tunnels that’ll, hopefully, decrease the amount of time I spend in the cold keeps me motivated,” Edwards said.
Korsh believes that the key to staying motivated is staying active and happy. She tries to “maximize my time awake,” take breaks and to see others.
“Maximizing your time” can be hard when it looks like a frozen tundra outside, but the pros argue that there’s a lot to do both inside and out when it's cold and snowing.
Spending time with people, either online or in person, can positively impact students’ mental health and help them avoid the ever-dreaded seasonal depression. Doing things such as sledding, building snowmen or, even, playing videogames can make the winter days seem a little brighter.
“I have a ton of games on my phone that I play my friends in, like Crossplay and such,” Korsh says, “So that way, even if we can’t see each other, we can still hop on a call or play a game so we don’t all feel too disconnected.”
Outside, Edwards encourages students to go ice skating, skiing, snow boarding, have cabin trips, and of course, snowball fights.
Students don’t have to dread winter if they take the pros' advice and effectively prepare for it. Making sure their closets are equipped, their motivation stays up and they find ways to pass their time, students can expect to survive their first Buffalo winter.
Agnes Keough is an assistant features editor and can be reached at agnes.keough@ubspectrum.com.
