As I sit here, it’s 80 degrees at 10 o’clock in the morning. The temperature will continue to climb throughout the day, and it will be the third day in a row with near-record temperatures.

Who says Buffalo doesn’t have good weather?

Sure, our winters can be a little rough. Alright, maybe “a little rough,” is putting it lightly, but hey, we’re Buffalonians. We can handle some snow. We’ve realized you can’t complain about it, you have to embrace it.

Whether you embrace it by going skiing or snowboarding in the Southtowns, ice skating or ice biking on the outdoor ice at Canalside, or even ice fishing on Lake Erie, you’re having fun with the snow. And what’s the old saying? “Time flies when you’re having fun,” which makes the winter a lot more bearable.

Once you get through, let’s say four or sometimes five months of the cold weather and being the brunt of just about every weather joke there is, you’re rewarded with the awesome summers that we have and the activities that come along with it.

From mid-May to about mid-September you can count on the temperature being between 70 and 85 degrees, and every once in a while pushing to near 90. So, you have very reasonable temperatures, not too hot, not too cold, but every once and a while, you’ll have a stretch that satisfies those that like it a little cooler and those that like it a little warmer. All of this occurs with not much rain as well, which means outdoor activities are easy to enjoy.

Outdoor activities used to be few and far between, but now, with the evolution of Canalside, there are many things that you can do to embrace the sun and warmth. After being underutilized for many years Canalside has become a hot spot for many Buffalonians. And for good reason. There is always some sort of activity going on, whether it be for the younger or older crowd, there is something for everyone.

On top of Canalside, we have Niagara Falls, one of the most beautiful and popular natural wonders of the world, right in our backyard. You can find many things to do all over Western New York, you just have to be willing to explore. And for every Buffalo summer there is always the one constant, the abundance of festivals, carnivals and county fairs that bring us together as a community.

And of course the one thing that can never be forgotten, the Buffalo sunset. We have the pleasure of being able to watch the sunset over Lake Erie every day, weather permitting, and I can tell you one thing, it never gets old.

So the next time you hear someone poking fun at Buffalo weather, I have a task for you: as we do with everything else, just embrace it. If they’re poking fun at Buffalo weather, they have clearly never spent any time here. So embrace their hate, and then invite them to spend a day or two, heck, maybe even a week or two, and then ask them their opinion. I guarantee it’ll be different.

Buffalo is enjoying a rebirth, it’s back to the great city that it once was, and I, for one, am excited to be here to see it and of course, embrace it, weather and all.