Wednesday morning squalls lead to lake effect

A cold front is bringing bursts of snow to the Finger Lakes Wednesday morning and will set the stage for some areas of lake effect snow tonight into Thursday.

Wednesday Morning Squalls

An area of low pressure is tracking just north of the Finger Lakes this morning. A cold front extends south of this low and is pushing across the region.

Along and near this front, snow squalls have developed and are moving from west to east. Most of the squalls should depart by 10 am.

As the squalls move through, a burst of very heavy snow is likely. Visibility will be reduced significantly and roads will quickly become snow covered. An inch or two of snow may accumulate in an hour or less.

Please be aware of the squalls by tracking them on the Finger Lakes Radar page, and be prepared for rapidly changing conditions if on the roads this morning.

Lake Snows Organize Later Wednesday

As colder air works into the region later this afternoon, lake effect snow will start to develop off the Great Lakes.

There may be a period this evening when there is an upstream connection to the Georgian Bay off Lake Huron that could bring some locally heavy snow to parts of the Finger Lakes. That connection will likely be lost overnight, and a spray of snow will come off of Lake Ontario.

The heaviest snows will likely be near the Lake Ontario shore in Wayne county and over parts of east-central Cayuga and southern Onondaga counties, where the lake effect may organize and linger well into Thursday. A few inches will be possible along and north of Interstate 90.

Areas further south may see an inch or so this evening as the connection to the Upper Great Lakes exists, but will likely just see occasional snow showers with light accumulations overnight and Thursday.

The lake effect snow should gradually weaken throughout the day Thursday. By the evening, most of the snow should be over.

The weather should remain mostly calm and quiet through the weekend with warming temperatures.

Be sure to check back between 5:15-5:45 pm tonight for the evening forecast update!