That explains why I could pick up VHF stations from Buffalo [2, 4, sometimes 7] & Syracuse [3, 5, never 9] when I lived in Rochester, NY, I couldn't get any UHF from Syracuse [24. 68] at all, & only once from Buffalo [29, never could get 17], & I think that was because of a band opening
I probably would have needed a very tall tower to improve my reception chances
There was a house just outside the city limits on the NW side that had vertically stacked TV antennas, I'm sorry that I never knocked on the door to ask what they were able to pick up