Niagara University, Lewiston

Niagara University’s location is unrivaled. Located atop the rugged, water-carved Niagara River gorge, the university is just four miles from the world famous cataracts of Niagara Falls, N.Y. The beautifully maintained suburban campus is an attractive blend of 19th and 20th century architecture, overlooking the Province of Ontario. Two major international airports are near the campus – Buffalo-Niagara International Airport is less than a half-hour south and Toronto’s Pearson International is less than 90 miles north. An excellent network of roads and rail service help with travel in, and around, the region. The cost-of-living index in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls metropolitan area ranks among the 10 lowest areas in the nation.

Western NY & Southern Ontario

Western New York and Southern Ontario offer a variety of cultural, entertainment, and recreational options. The NFL’s Buffalo Bills, NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and Triple-A baseball’s Buffalo Bisons surround the area. Two nearby Great Lakes, Erie and Ontario, offer sailing and prime sport fishing.

The Seasons

The Niagara Frontier, including Buffalo and vicinity, experiences a fairly humid, continental-type climate, but with a definite “maritime” flavor due to strong modification from the Great Lakes. Winters in Western New York are generally cloudy, cold and snowy…but are changeable and include frequent thaws and rain as well. Snow covers the ground more often than not from Christmas into early March, but periods of bare ground are not uncommon. Over half of the annual snowfall comes from the “lake effect” process and is very localized.

Spring comes slowly to the Buffalo area. The ice pack on Lake Erie does not usually disappear until mid-April and the lake remains chilly through most of May. Fortunately, the cool lake waters act as a strong stabilizing influence, so areas near the lake shore, including the city of Buffalo, experience more sunshine and fewer thunderstorms than inland areas.

Summer is pleasant in the Buffalo area. Sunshine is plentiful, temperatures are warm, and humidity levels are moderate. Rainfall is adequate, but it shows an overnight maximum, so it is seldom a problem for outdoor activities. There usually are periods of uncomfortably warm and humid weather during summer, but an average of only three 90 degree readings makes conditions more bearable than at most other locations. Overall, Buffalo has the sunniest and driest summers of any major city in the Northeast, with enough rain to keep vegetation green and lush.

Autumn on the Niagara Frontier is pleasant, but rather brief. September is usually quite tame, as is much of October. The first frost can be expected in late September over interior sections, but not until mid October in the Buffalo metro area. During some years, the warm Lake Erie water can extend the growing season into early November adjacent to the lake shore. Cold fronts from Canada become common in late October, and as the cold air passes over the warmer Great lakes, cloud cover increases drastically. This heralds the start of the Lake Effect season. The first measurable snow usually occurs in mid November, but snow cover is sporadic until mid December. However, many of Buffalo’s greatest snowstorms have occurred in late November and early December, due to the lake effect phenomenon.

Degree