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Syracuse on average gets much more snow than Buffalo. Buffalo is actually north of the snow belt. Orchard Park, NY(where the Buffalo Bills play) is where the snow starts to get heavy. From there down to the PA border is the snow belt off of Lake Erie.

Syracuse up to Watertown, NY is the lake effect area downwind from Lake Ontario. The worst area is from Oswego around the east end of the lake to the Tug Hill Plateau(directly east).

The big difference in WNY is that USUALLY Lake Erie freezes over almost every year. Last year it did not. Once the lake freezes over. The lake effect stops. However, back in 1976/1977 Lake Erie froze over earlier than ever before. Snow built up on the ice and then a blizzard hit in January. The wind blew in excess of 70 mph. It took all the snow that piled up on the lake and blew it into the city of Buffalo to an average depth of 3’. In places it drifted over 10’. I was 14 years old living in Orchard Park. School was closed for a week.

Conditions were so bad they called on people who owned snow mobiles to help with emergency services. I recall being on the back of my buddies Arctic Cat sled going down a 4 lane road. We went over a bump looked back and realized we had just gone over a buried car.

I grew up in Orchard Park and then went to Syracuse University. So, I went from one snowy place to another really snowy place. I had a buddy in college who grew up in Lowville, NY on the edge of the Tug Hill Plateau. I think that is one of snowiest places in the lower 48. That and the UP of MI.