Transcript Summary: Welcome to Spring in Syracuse
Antonio Dunston, Reporter: Just a week ago, Syracuse was locked in one of its coldest starts to April in nearly a decade. Then, almost overnight, it felt like spring had finally arrived…students swapped out their snow boots for shorts as easter weekend brought a much-needed warmup. But in true Central New York fashion, that taste of spring didn’t last long.
Dunston: Temperatures plunged again, bringing even a bit of snow, before settling back to something closer to seasonal norms. For Syracuse students, that kind of whiplash isn’t surprising—but it definitely makes these warmer days all the more rewarding.
Grace Daly: Having the winter here in Syracuse, I definitely appreciate the spring a lot more. Once it’s finally nice out, I try to get outside as much as possible because, I mean, it’s cold six, six months of the year that we’re here. So I’m like, let me enjoy it while I can.
Dunston: There are essentially two types of students on this campus. The ones who saw 60 degrees and immediately banished their winter coats to the back of their closets, and the ones raised in Central New York who knew better than to leave those coats anywhere but at an arm’s reach. For some, this is the moment they’ve been waiting for all semester. For others, it’s just a relief it happened at all.
Lauren Gori: It was brutal at the beginning. It was so windy I had like the puffer out. And then just like changing to the warm weather was really nice.
Carly Hannah: It was also the same last year, so I’m not I’m not surprised. But yeah. Like it’s you can’t trust it. No, it’s always changing.
Dunston: And it’s not just students feeling that way. Locals say they’ve learned to take Central New York’s spring one day at a time…never being fooled by the cold or taking the warmth for granted.
Natalie Dascoulias: April was cold and then May hit and it just got super hot right away. Like there was no grace period. I don’t know. I really think it’s hit or miss with the year.
Dunston: The weather continues to look promising… but after a week like this, students know better than to trust it.
Dunston: Reporting from Syracuse University… Antonio Dunston, N-C-C News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Spring in Syracuse rarely arrives quietly. It takes its time figuring itself out, shifting moods, swapping temperatures, and never settling on one version of itself for long.
This year has been no different, as Central New York swung from bitter cold to balmy sunshine and back again in a matter of days. A seasonal whiplash that students and longtime residents know all too well, leaving anyone unfamiliar genuinely shocked.
Grace Daly, a Syracuse University student from Maryland, says the constant shifts in the weather have changed the way she experiences the season.
“It was a little jarring,” she said. “It’s like the second or third winter of the season almost.”
The pattern has become so familiar that many students barely flinch anymore, they just adapt.
That urgency is visible across campus. Some students immediately tucked their winter gear deep into their closets the moment temperatures hit 60. Others, especially those who grew up in the region, kept their coats within arm’s reach, knowing better than to trust a warm spell in April.
For first‑year students and out‑of‑state students, the rapid swings can feel disorienting. For locals, they know it’s simply part of life up here.
Rochester native Natalie Dascoulias says the back-and-forth barely fazes her anymore. She’s seen enough unpredictable Aprils to know better than to expect a clean break from winter.
“I’m ready for the warm weather,” she said. “But like today is pretty nice, and yeah I’m used to this.”
Still, the unpredictability doesn’t dampen the excitement. When the sun comes out, campus transforms instantly. Lawns fill, hammocks appear, and students find ways to spill into every outdoor space they can find.
Forecasters say the upcoming stretch looks promising, with temperatures trending upward. But after a week of dramatic swings and an incoming cold front, most students aren’t ready to declare winter officially over. Around here, spring feels less like a season and more like an ongoing conversation with yourself every morning deciding whether the jacket stays or goes.