How much snow did Buffalo get? Everything you need to know about the Bills vs. 49ers Lake Effect snow game

Everyone knew it was going to snow in Buffalo before Sunday night’s game between the Bills and 49ers. However, with the skies relatively clear just hours before kickoff, what followed surprised many people. When it started snowing again in the first quarter, it fell harder than it had all day – and continued throughout the game.

“Lake effect snow” is a common term for areas near the Great Lakes and refers to a phenomenon caused by winter weather that causes several feet of snow to fall in a relatively short period of time. You might think it would make playing football impossible, but with the help of the Bills Mafia, the Sunday Night Football game was able to happen. Spectators were treated to three hours of sloppy football, with players running particularly slowly to maintain their footing.

Here’s everything you need to know about the lake effect snow that fell during the Bills-49ers-SNF game in Week 13.

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How much snow did Buffalo get?

It was estimated that 22.9 inches of snow had fallen in Buffalo before kickoff. It snowed throughout the game, with NWS Buffalo estimating an additional 3 to 4 inches fell every hour. At this rate, Buffalo would have received nearly three feet of snow over the holiday weekend.

The current scene in Buffalo ❄️👀

📺: #SFvsBUF – 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock
📱: Keep streaming #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/iHJpaKVnRm

– NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024

It’s still snowing in Orchard Park. 🥶#GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/kGflmPtq3N

– Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 1, 2024

The real MVPs!!

Our snow removal teams are working non-stop to get it done @HighmarkStadm ready for @SNFonNBC. #SFvsBUF #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/Xi4vbSJ376

– Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 1, 2024

Game day scenes in Orchard Park. ❄️#SFvsBUF | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/yrw0sWJHHr

– Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 1, 2024

Where is Bills Stadium?

The Bills play at Highmark Stadium. It is located in Orchard Park, NY, a southern suburb of Buffalo. The city is located on Lake Erie and the stadium is about five miles east of the lake.

Is Bills Field heated?

There is no heating element under the field at Highmark Stadium. The Bills are in the process of building a new stadium. It also won’t have a heating element, but it will have a canopy that will provide some coverage for the fans, far more than the zero percent coverage they have now.

The franchise holds a winter appeal each season. They typically offer fans an hourly rate, food and hot drinks for shoveling snow. Before the 49ers game, the die-hard fans split into three shifts to shovel the stadium.

Does it snow in San Francisco?

Rarely. Most San Francisco residents have probably never seen snow in the city. It also depends on what you consider San Francisco to be compared to the surrounding areas, which include more mountains, the peaks of which sometimes experience thundershowers.

San Francisco, closer to downtown, hasn’t had snow in almost 50 years. The last recorded snowfall in the sea-level city’s downtown was in 1976, when it snowed seven inches.

What is Lake Effect Snow?

According to the National Weather Service, “Lake effect snow occurs when cold air, often from Canada, flows over the open waters of the Great Lakes. As the cold air flows over the unfrozen and relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes, heat and moisture are transferred to the lowest part of the atmosphere, clouds form and grow into a narrow band that produces 2 to 3 inches of snow per hour or more produced.