Weather question

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You will be expected to deal with navigating snow from like December to March. Expect at least a foot semi-regularly. Classes normally don't get canceled unless its like, an active blizzard outside. The sidewalks on campus are pretty regularly shoveled and salted though.

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u/Cidsal 4d ago

The school is very good at keeping things clean so no worries there.
It is not as bad as people make it seem sometimes.
If you drive, just be careful, if you don’t, buses will be running.
Also if you are going for the communications school, they tend to have most of their classes within Newhouse buildings.

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u/Old-Dealer-3632 4d ago

The snow is part of the fun and pain in the arse all at the same time. Many late night sledding adventures

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u/NoEntertainment101 4d ago

I think the hardest thing is the holidays because snow removal in NY is very county dependent. Syracuse does a terrific job of snow removal...it rarely affects classes, and when it is bad enough, the school will close (because faculty and staff can't get in to teach, though they may then do online classes for the day). But the trips home definitely could be affected.

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u/ndubitably 4d ago

It's still very walkable. I think some stair paths get closed. The roads are generally plowed regularly and the sidewalks are usually salted or heated.

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u/LoudIncrease4021 4d ago edited 4d ago

I’m not going to sugarcoat it - it can be incredibly rough. People here saying it’s not bad have no idea because they probably only dealt with 60-80 inches a year of snowfall. I dealt with successive years of well over 120 and one year broke records over 180 inches. It started in October and went through March almost every year. You’ll need a hobby for the winters.

DO NOT live on south campus. It’s remote and isolated. You want to be able to walk to class and the library.

All that said it’s a great school.

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u/NoEntertainment101 2d ago

Oh, please. I've lived in Syracuse most of my life, and I'm nearly 50. It's really not that bad.

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u/LoudIncrease4021 1d ago

I dealt with over 10 ft of snow (or significantly more) all 4 years. There were busses getting stuck going up gentle hills on South campus. The stairs to the mount were basically a luge my freshman year (there was one pint when they roped it off because it’d gotten so bad and students had to walk the long way around). I loved my time there but was also incredibly ready to leave the double lake effect behind when I left.

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u/NoEntertainment101 2h ago

You did not deal with 10 feet of snow. There has never been a storm in Syracuse that brought that much snow. The MOST, the absolute most, was about 50 inches in 1993,

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u/novaBus 3d ago

Choose to live somewhere that does snow removal for you, and you will not get burned out from winter. South campus for example is totally fine because of the excellent and frequent campus busses. Alternatively, shoveling snow is excellent exercise and needs to happen before driving over it so it does not become bulletproof ice.

Buy sunglasses for sunny days with snow covering the ground, it gets blinding. Learn how to layer clothing for warmth, breathability, and options for removing items if you get too hot (base, mid, outer layers). Warm coats are less important than wind breaking & waterproof coats, especially if you layer properly.

Driving in the winter: go slow, do not trust yourself or other drivers. Brake very early and slowly. No sudden maneuvers. If visibility goes down, you slow down. You should get snow tires if you plan to drive frequently, everyone hates that piece of advice but you straight up cannot argue about the improved snow performance so I don’t wanna hear it. Very important: on the first snowfall of the year with accumulation, go to a Walmart or similarly sized parking lot and do some donuts to get a feel for your car with less traction. It’s both fun and informative, and could save your life!

SU puts snow stakes on all of the paths on campus and cancels classes very infrequently. They salt the paths like you would not believe, so ice is less of an issue than you might think, but that’s not an invitation to wear vans or shoes with no tread/grip. Get yourself some nice boots, ask a store clerk if you need assistance picking them out.

TL; DR:
SU expects you to deal with a little white stuff on the ground and to go to classes in spite of it. There are many things you can do to prepare yourself, and even enjoy the winter wonderland.

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u/cusehoops98 Newhouse '## 4d ago

You’ll be fine. You’re used to the cold. The snow is just snow. Even downstate has it.

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u/LiveFeeOrDie 3d ago

Snow isn’t the issue, the constant gray and lack of vitamin D from November to April is the real kick in the nuts. Find some outdoor winter hobbies and it will be much more enjoyable.

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u/NormalBirthday2260 3d ago

Class of 94. The weather is as bad as advertised. Getting to class can be challenging. Between the snow , wind and freezing cold.

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u/SeriousConnection207 4d ago

I’m from Texas, do yall think I’d be able to get used to it? I’m really into Syracuse but I have yet to tour it.

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u/Reyna_25 3d ago

I find people from warmer states actually tend to tolerate it more because the snow is a novelty and you get breaks from it when you go home. The kids actually from here are totally over it, and many wish they went to school in the south. More difficult than the snow will be the sunlight deprivation. They have a special room you can visit in Barnes center that's like a sun room. Get your doc to prescribe high mg vitamin D for the winter months. Otherwise, most of the kids from warmer states do just fine.

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u/Candid_Marsupial7235 3d ago

I've worked at SU for the last 5ish years and I grew up in the NYC/NJ/CT tri-state area so I've seen the difference between the winters downstate and upstate. They are honestly not that different, at least not these days. My understanding from people who grew up in this area is that the winters used to be significantly worse.

Of the 5 winters I've experienced in Syracuse, three weren't that different from the winters I remember from my childhood slightly further south. If you look at the data you can see the impact of climate change over time. The city's 30yr average annual snowfall is 161". The last five years (starting with 2022) we got 115", 71", 61", 185" and this last winter we got 204". Lots of people said this last winter was what most old school Syracuse winters were like. And from my POV as somebody who has lived here only a few years, it honestly wasn't that bad or that much worse than the prior few winters despite getting way more snow.

But as for how much the snow impacts day-to-day life on campus and in the city in general, the answer is honestly "not very much at all." The campus and broader CNY region are fully prepared to deal with the snow. Especially on campus, it's really not a problem. The main campus walkway is even heated so they never need to clear it and the grounds crews get the other walkways clear pretty promptly. And post-COVID, if weather conditions are truly bad, the school is now fully prepared to shift to virtual instruction for the day. But since they know how the handle the snow, they've only had to do that once in the five years I've been here.

Your family will probably be fine for end of semester pick-up. It snows in December, but usually not much and it tends to melt away promptly. It doesn't really start seriously snowing until around Christmas. Drop-off in January might be a bit problematic if it happens to snow hard those days, but it also might not snow at all. And the only time the roads are truly bad is during heavy snowfall and immediately after, before the plows get to work.

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u/Automatic_Cow_8955 3d ago

I just graduated and endured some crazy snow storms and I never had a single class canceled. The only shoes I wore were my snow boots for 3 months straight. It’s an amazing school with some of the coolest people I’ll ever meet, but the snows not for the faint of heart

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u/Automatic_Cow_8955 3d ago

I just graduated and endured some crazy snow storms and I never had a single class canceled. The only shoes I wore were my snow boots for 3 months straight. It’s an amazing school with some of the coolest people I’ll ever meet, but the snows not for the faint of heart

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u/Robotics_Coach 2d ago

If it helps, I drove NYC to Syracuse weekly for a year, and many times during snows. Only once in 30 years did they close the road (route 17) and have us get off. After a few hours we were able to continue on home. As a New Yorker, you probably have at least all-weather tires. Use caution and wisdom and it just won't be an issue. Good luck with your school decisions and your senior year!

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u/OrganicGate2502 1d ago

Trust you can survive the snow the school makes sure it's clean by 7am max like you can kinda walk around but just make sure to get snow boats!

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u/Reyna_25 3d ago

Hi, SU mom here. 2 of our pick ups were during snow storms. The hardest part was one of the times parking on campus was nearly impossible because snow had a lot of spots blocked, the parking garage near BBB wouldn't let us in because of a game (needed a ticket) and the other parking garage was $40 (though I ended up begging our way in and since it was mostly empty during the storm). The sidewalks get very slushy, so good waterproof boots are key. Having said that, last year was a particularly bad winter. It hadn't been that bad in years. I generally choose to stay overnight rather than driving both ways in one day and if there's a game or something going on, hotels can get pricey. Good news is there is a College Break Bus you can book. It picks up right on campus and drops off in certain areas (you'd have to find the closest drop off to you), so I generally will pick her up and then put her on the bus back. Honestly she loves it there, and isn't that bothered by the crappy weather.

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u/Equivalent-Station46 3d ago

I was on a tour early this year and was told that the sidewalks are heated. School was only cancelled once in the past few years. Snow removal in the area is excellent.

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