Mixed Friday morning precipitation kicks off active holiday weekend weather

finger lakes weather forecast friday december 22 2017 christmas travel forecast ice rain snow
Ice, rain, and snow will all be possible throughout the holiday weekend as an active weather pattern sets up across the Finger Lakes. [Photo by Nanci McCraine]

Slick Friday Morning

Snow and ice in the Finger Lakes early Friday are causing some slick conditions in what is just the start of a busy weather pattern that will continue through the Christmas holiday.

Steady overnight snow has generally pushed east of the region and a small lull in the precipitation is overhead as of 7:30 am Friday.

Scattered showers of a variety of precipitation types exist, with a secondary area of more widespread precipitation starting to take shape over western New York.

finger lakes interactive weather radar
Mobile friendly and interactive, Finger Lakes Weather’s radar page is the place to go for up-to-the-minute information. Color coded to easily see rain, snow, and ice! Click here!

To the north, precipitation is falling as snow, while ice and rain are already mixing in across the Southern Tier.

Through this morning, areas north of I-90 should mostly remain snow with a little ice mixing in right along the Thruway. Just south of the Thruway, precipitation will be a mix of ice and rain, with mostly rain falling across the southern Finger Lakes and Southern Tier.

The one exception to this will be along I-81, where ice and snow may linger longer as well.

Precipitation should mostly end by the early afternoon, with even the snowy areas seeing a brief change over to ice and rain before precipitation ends.

Most areas should not see more than a slight coating of ice, but even that can make travel tricky. Give yourself extra time, reduce speeds, and be cautious traveling this morning.

Rain Ends as Snow Saturday

The weather will remain semi-tranquil through Friday afternoon and evening with just a couple scattered rain showers about the region.

Areas of fog may also develop tonight, which could reduce visibilities for travel.

Rain showers will transition to a widespread rain Saturday morning which may fall heavy at times.

Cold air will turn the rain to snow from northwest to southeast. By the early afternoon Saturday, snow will be falling across a good portion of the area with all snow by dinner time.

The snow may come down heavily at times and cause rapidly changing travel conditions.

The snow will end by the evening hours, but not before several inches fall in some places. The northwestern Finger Lakes could see as much as 3-6 inches, while areas further south and east see less.

Look for a snow map for this event Saturday morning.

Christmas Snow

Another storm system will make its way towards the Finger Lakes Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Snow from this system should arrive after sunset on Christmas Eve (Sunday) and will continue throughout the night into Christmas morning (Monday).

There are still questions on how heavy this snow will be, but generally, it looks like a lighter, tamer snow.

A couple of inches should fall Sunday night, followed by additional lake effect snow after the widespread snow ends Monday morning.

An additional snow map for this event will be published Sunday morning.

Tap into the Power of Real Local Weather

Many websites offer a forecast for any zip-code you want, but these are often computer generated, model driven forecasts. Finger Lakes Weather carefully crafts its zip-code forecasts to match each individual weather situation to the complex terrain and microclimates of our region.

With a wide variety of weather conditions expected across the area this weekend, check your zip code forecast often so you know exactly what to expect in the Finger Lakes:

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Follow Meteorologist Drew Montreuil:
Meteorologist Drew Montreuil has been forecasting the weather in the Finger Lakes region since 2006 and has degrees in meteorology from SUNY Oswego (B.S. with Honors) and Cornell (M.S.). Drew and his wife have four young boys. When not working or playing with the boys, he is probably out for a run through the countryside.

  1. […] FLX Weather Meteorologist Drew Montreuil says areas north of I-90 should mostly remain snow with a little ice mixing in right along the Thruway. Just south of the Thruway, precipitation will be a mix of ice and rain, with mostly rain falling across the southern Finger Lakes and Southern Tier. […]