The climate of Western NY is always a challenge. Its always “too” something: too cold, too much snow, too windy. A grazer always has to have an eye on the weather. Sheep do need some protection in our climate. There are seasons where they can stay out for days at a time but because of farm conditions they may have to moved off a pasture or given more shelter.
I have found a site that is very useful for planning purposes. It suggests that the theme for this year is going to be “too much precipitation”.
Check out Climate re-analyzer