Buffalo is a little bit of a unique situation because it gets "Lake Effect" snow. It's located on the east shore of Lake Erie, which allows arctic wind to blow unobstructed. When you get a bad cold snap like we had last week, and the lake hasn't frozen, you end up with super-chilled air blowing over the surface of the much warmer lake water. The wind picks up moisture from the lake, freezes it, and then dumps it on shore.