A town of western New York, a suburb of Buffalo. Population: 117,000.
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A town of western New York, a suburb of Buffalo. Population: 117,000.
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Temperature: 71°F /
21°C
RealFeel Temperature™: 72°F / 22°C Humidity: 93% Winds: SW 13 mph / 21 kmh Pressure: 29.78" Visibility: 2 mi. / 3 km |
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82°F /
27°C LO: 59°F / 15°C |
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74°F /
23°C LO: 58°F / 14°C |
| Friday |
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82°F /
27°C LO: 66°F / 18°C |
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90°F /
32°C LO: 69°F / 20°C |
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79°F /
26°C LO: 61°F / 16°C |
| Amherst | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | |
| Area | mi² ( km²) |
| - land | mi² ( km²) |
| - water | mi² ( km²), 0.56% |
| Center | |
| - coordinates | Coordinates: |
| - elevation | |
| Population | (2000) |
| Density | /mi² ( /km²) |
| Incorporated | 1818 |
| Supervisor | Satish B. Mohan (2007) |
| Time zone | |
| - summer (DST) | |
| ZIP code | 14051, 14068, 14221, 14226, 14228 |
| Area code | 716 |
| Website : http://www.amherst.ny.us | |
Amherst is a town in
The Town of Amherst encompasses most of the
Based on statistics reported to the
Amherst was formed in 1818 from part of the Town of Buffalo (later the City of Buffalo), which had previously been created from the Town of Clarence. Part of Amherst was used to form the Town of Cheektowaga in 1839.
One of the biggest events to take place in the Amherst area has been known as the October Surprise storm of 2006. This was the worst storm to ever hit Amherst and the surrounding areas. 2 feet of heavy wet snow had fallen on Friday Oct. 13th. The storm’s effects were highly localized: it dumped up to 2 feet of snow on some areas of the Buffalo metro region and surrounding northern suburbs, while other areas saw very little snow, or no snow at all. The event was described by the National Weather Service Office in Buffalo, New York, as "astounding", "unbelievable" and "incredible" and by the Toronto Star as "one of the most devastating snow storms in US history." It was also an example of the "particularly rare meteorological phenomenon" known as thunder snow.
In affected areas, wet, heavy lake effect snow with 2.5 inches of water within the 2 feet of snow piled onto trees which were still in full leaf, leading to significant damage to the majority of the trees, on a scale usually associated with hurricanes. An estimated 400,000 people were without power on Friday the 13th, some 100,000 households remained without power for a week, and a few thousand remained without power for ten days. These were the two snowiest October days recorded in Buffalo since the National Weather Service began keeping track 137 years ago. Effects of the storm were responsible for 13 deaths.
Conservative initial damage estimates to clean up the estimated 6 to 8.6 million cubic yards of debris were at least $130 million USD, but even ten days after the storm hit, estimates of the number of tons of debris and the final costs of clearing them were "a moving target." The storm closed the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport for several hours on Thursday, October 12, and again on Friday, October 13, and closed a 100-mile (160-km) stretch of the New York State Thruway for several hours on Friday, October 13. Many if not most businesses were closed for at least a few days, and schools for at least a week. Most schools reopened on Monday, October 23, after six consecutive "snow days", but a few in the most heavily affected areas reopened 3-4 day’s after that Monday. Affected parts of Erie, Genesee, Orleans and Niagara Counties in Western New York were declared a "major disaster" area by President George W. Bush on October 24, 2006.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 138.6 km² (53.5 mi²). 137.9 km² (53.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (0.50%) is water.
Much of Amherst was originally floodplain and marshland, much of which has been drained in recent years to facilitate
development of new homes and businesses. The central and southern parts of the town are heavily suburbanized, however the
southernmost hamlets (Eggertsville, Snyder) and the
Amherst is bordered on the north by Tonawanda Creek and
New York State Route 5, locally called "Main Street," passes through the town. The east town line is marked by Transit Road, NY Route 78. The west town line is formed by Niagara Falls Boulevard.
As of the census² of 2000, there were 116,510 people, 45,076 households, and 29,885 families residing in the town. The population density was 844.8/km² (2,188.1/mi²). There were 46,803 housing units at an average density of 339.4/km² (879.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.28% White, 3.90% African American, 0.13% Native American, 5.22% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population.
There were 45,076 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $55,427, and the median income for a family was $68,951. Males had a median income of $51,667 versus $32,030 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,647. About 4.2% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
47.4% of residents (aged 25 and over) have obtained a Bachelor's degree or higher, including 22.6% with a Graduate or professional degree.
Areas within Amherst are referred to by the former post office station names and are not legally incorporated. During the 1990s, many of these regional post offices were closed and consolidated into the central Amherst 14226 post office on Bailey avenue, leaving only a Williamsville 14221 post office on Sheridan Drive and an East Amherst 14051 post office on Transit Road. Mailing addresses to areas within the Town of Amherst are Amherst, East Amherst, Eggertsville, Getzville, Snyder, and Williamsville. These postal districts are still recognized by the post office and widely referred to by citizens. Some of these mailing addresses overlap - some areas of Clarence directly east of Transit Road have Williamsville addresses, although for the purposes of taxes, schools and community resources, these people are residents of the Town of Clarence.
All the areas listed below are governed and run by the Town of Amherst. The Village of Williamsville also has its own Mayor and board.
There are four institutions of higher education located in Amherst. The North Campus of the University at Buffalo (housing all of the University programs
apart from architecture, planning, nursing, dentistry, and medicine), Daemen College, and
one of the three campuses of
There are three separate public school districts within the town. The Williamsville Central School District is the largest and comprises the eastern half of the town along with portions of the Town of Clarence. The Williamsville Central School District has been referred to as Western New York's primer school district. The Amherst Central School District is the southwestern portion of the town with its core in the Eggertsville and Snyder areas. The Sweet Home Central School District is the northwestern portion of the town along with portions of the Town of Tonawanda with its core in West Amherst and Getzville.
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Copyrights:
![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
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