A clipper system will move into the Finger Lakes this afternoon, bringing another shot of just enough snow to be a nuisance.
Before the snow moves in though, temperatures will get a big boost from morning lows near or below 0º. Southerly winds ahead of the clipper system will help temperatures rise into the upper 20s and low 30s across the region. Warm air will be working in aloft as well, and some of the precipitation may fall as some sleet or freezing rain as it first starts this afternoon.
After an initial burst of precipitation this afternoon, do not be totally surprised if the precipitation breaks up for a couple of hours as the system wraps some dry air into its circulation. This seems most likely to happen across the western Finger Lakes.
Snow will return this evening and overnight as the storm strengthens some and passes across Lake Ontario. Winds will turn towards the northwest and become gusty by Friday, with some areas seeing gusts over 30mph. This will cause areas of blowing snow, single digit wind chills, and lake effect snow.
While I expect a spray of lake effect flurries off of Lake Ontario across most of the region on Friday, the lake snows should be especially concentrated over the eastern Finger Lakes, lending to some slightly higher snow totals in those areas.
Another surge of cold air will move in behind this system, with highs in the teens throughout the weekend. The system that I’ve been watching for Monday is looking more and more likely to pass well to our south. While this will mean no additional snow early next week, it will be a reinforcing shot of cold air with highs on Monday struggling to reach 10º.
