Original analysis of NOAA and Census data

Buffalo summer heat data: how much air conditioning a Buffalo house needs now

Buffalo now averages 26.6 days a year at 85°F or hotter and 14.5 nights that never cool below 70°F, based on 86 years of daily readings at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Both numbers are above the 1991-2020 averages of 19.7 and 9.4.

Every day of 2026 so far, colored by the afternoon high at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. 19 days reached 85°F through October 24, 2026.under 3232 to 4950s60s, 70s75 to 7980 to 8485 to 8990+NOAA NCEI daily summaries, station USW00014733.

Days per year at 85°F or hotter, Buffalo Niagara International Airport

Source: NOAA NCEI daily summaries, station USW00014733, 1940-2025. 2026 runs through October 24, 2026.

Nights per year when the low stayed at 70°F or above

Source: NOAA NCEI daily summaries, station USW00014733, 1960 to October 24, 2026. When the overnight low holds at 70, open windows bring in air no cooler than what is already inside.

What we found

More 85 degree days. 19.7 a year in 1991-2020, 26.6 in 2016-2025, and 28.5 a year so far in the 2020s (6 complete years).
More warm nights. Nights with a low of 70°F or more went from 9.4 a year to 14.5. Nights at 65°F or more went from 34 to 41.6.
90 degree days are still rare. 3.4 a year in 1991-2020 and 5.3 over 2016-2025. The 1940s and 1950s had more, about 7.4 a year, so this is not a straight line up.
A longer season. Over 2016-2025 the first 85°F day came around May 21 on average and the last around September 13, about 116 days apart. In 1991-2020 it was May 26 to September 7.
Peak months: July averages about 9 days at 85°F or more and August about 8. June averages 5.
Records: the hottest reading since 1940 was 99°F on August 27, 1948. The longest run of 90°F days was 8 in a row, ending July 10, 2020. The warmest night had a low of 79°F, on August 1, 2006.
2026 so far: 19 days at 85°F or more through October 24, 2026, against a 1991-2020 average of 19.7 by that date. The high for the year was 90°F on June 30, 2026. 9 nights stayed at 70°F or above.

Average days at 85°F or hotter, by month

Source: NOAA NCEI daily summaries, station USW00014733, 2016-2025 average.

Average daily high and low by month, Buffalo Niagara International Airport

Top number is the average high, bottom is the average low, 2016-2025. Source: NOAA NCEI daily summaries, station USW00014733.

Trees and lawn in a downtown Buffalo square with City Hall and office towers behind — Downtown in early summer. The hot stretch here is short but humid. Photo: Shamir Hunley / Unsplash

By decade

Decade	Days at 85°F+ per year	Days at 90°F+ per year	Nights at 70°F+ per year
1940s	32.1	7.4	5.1
1950s	26.2	7.1	4.7
1960s	19.3	3.4	4.5
1970s	15.5	1.6	7.0
1980s	20.2	3.6	9.4
1990s	17.8	3.1	6.4
2000s	17.9	3.2	9.1
2010s	21.0	3.3	11.6
2020 to 2025	28.5	6.0	14.8

Homes by ZIP code

Read the columns as clues to what a cooling job will involve. A high pre-1940 share points to boilers and radiators, or ductwork laid out for a furnace several replacements ago. A high two-unit share points to doubles, where each flat usually has its own heat and its own cooling decision. The gas column shows how many households already run a furnace or boiler that a heat pump could take over from or lean on.

ZIP	Area	Housing units	Median year built	Built before 1940	In two-unit buildings	Owner occupied	Gas heat
14221	Williamsville / Amherst	25,661	1970	8%	6%	75%	89%
14075	Hamburg	20,482	1972	13%	6%	74%	90%
14150	Tonawanda (City and Town, north)	20,271	1956	16%	7%	72%	88%
14224	West Seneca	19,196	1967	11%	8%	76%	90%
14215	Kensington-Bailey / Delavan	18,809	1939 or earlier	52%	29%	50%	89%
14225	Cheektowaga (north)	16,186	1956	10%	17%	73%	92%
14086	Lancaster	15,544	1981	17%	8%	84%	93%
14127	Orchard Park	13,800	1976	9%	5%	74%	90%
14226	Amherst (Eggertsville, Snyder)	13,212	1953	14%	8%	71%	85%
14216	North Buffalo / Hertel	12,838	1939 or earlier	60%	39%	46%	91%
14043	Depew	11,869	1966	11%	14%	72%	88%
14213	West Side / Grant-Ferry	11,699	1939 or earlier	75%	46%	40%	87%
14207	Black Rock / Riverside	11,681	1939 or earlier	60%	43%	35%	89%
14211	East Side (Genesee-Moselle)	11,531	1939 or earlier	61%	44%	45%	88%
14220	South Buffalo	11,502	1939 or earlier	54%	31%	71%	96%
14217	Kenmore / Tonawanda	11,093	1947	39%	23%	66%	89%
14228	Amherst (UB North, Audubon)	10,992	1979	4%	11%	53%	79%
14223	Town of Tonawanda (Sheridan)	10,857	1953	13%	10%	81%	89%
14206	Kaisertown / Lovejoy	10,551	1939 or earlier	55%	31%	61%	93%
14227	Cheektowaga (south)	10,387	1971	3%	10%	67%	86%
14218	Lackawanna	9,541	1953	31%	20%	56%	89%
14214	University Heights / Parkside	9,519	1939 or earlier	59%	37%	42%	83%
14072	Grand Island	8,910	1975	4%	3%	82%	89%
14051	East Amherst	8,212	1987	2%	2%	82%	90%
14210	South Buffalo (Seneca and Caz)	7,896	1939 or earlier	56%	47%	46%	86%
14222	Elmwood Village	7,466	1939 or earlier	78%	22%	40%	85%
14201	Lower West Side / Allentown	6,921	1939 or earlier	66%	23%	24%	77%
14208	Hamlin Park / Masten	5,690	1939 or earlier	66%	42%	54%	85%
14212	Broadway-Fillmore	5,640	1939 or earlier	58%	38%	53%	84%
14219	Blasdell	5,552	1962	18%	13%	74%	88%
14204	Near East Side / Larkinville	5,470	1973	30%	21%	27%	76%
14209	Delaware District / Linwood	4,935	1939 or earlier	64%	18%	34%	76%
14031	Clarence	4,597	1984	10%	3%	81%	86%
14202	Downtown Buffalo	2,492	1954	41%	5%	22%	64%
14203	Downtown / Medical Campus	1,689	1939 or earlier	66%	2%	3%	43%

The area label is our own short name for the main neighborhood or town in each ZIP. Figures: Census ACS 5-year estimates for 2020-2024, from tables B25034, B25035, B25024, B25003 and B25040. Where a ZIP's median home is older than 1940, the Census only says "1939 or earlier," and so do we. Tap any column heading to sort.

Questions about the data

How many hot days does Buffalo get a year?

Over 2016-2025, Buffalo Niagara International Airport averaged 26.6 days a year at 85°F or hotter and 5.3 at 90°F or hotter. The 1991-2020 averages were 19.7 and 3.4.

What is the hottest temperature ever recorded at the Buffalo airport?

In the daily record we analyzed (1940 on), the highest reading was 99°F on August 27, 1948.

How we built this

Temperature. The daily record is NOAA NCEI's Global Historical Climatology Network file for the Buffalo Niagara International Airport station, USW00014733, running January 1, 1940 through October 24, 2026. We kept a year only when at least 355 of its days had both a high and a low, which gives 86 full years (1940-2025). 10 days where the recorded low beat the recorded high were thrown out as data-entry mistakes. When this page says normal it means 1991-2020, and recent means 2016-2025. All of it is our own tally from the daily readings; NOAA's official climate normals are a separate product.

Homes. American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates from the Census Bureau, by ZIP Code Tabulation Area, pulled through Census Reporter. The 17 ZIPs we label as city sit inside Buffalo, though ZIP boundaries and the city line don't match perfectly.

Limits. An airport thermometer in Cheektowaga can't speak for every street. Neighborhoods by the lake are often a few degrees cooler on a July afternoon, and the hills of the Southtowns cooler again. The Census also has no question about who owns an air conditioner. Treat these figures as background on the area, never as a diagnosis of your equipment.

Reuse. Reporters, home inspectors and anyone else may quote or republish the charts and tables under CC BY 4.0, linking back here.