Cooler temperatures are back (and so am I!)

Temperatures Retreat

After a mild start to the week, temperatures will take a dip back near to below normal for the middle of this week.

A broad northwest flow of cooler air has set up across the Great Lakes and Northeast behind an area of low pressure over far eastern Canada.

An area of high pressure will build east across Canada as well, reinforcing the northerly flow until the high passes to the east on Friday.

The result will be a couple of days of quiet, but cool weather.

There is some lake effect precipitation this morning extending from far eastern Wayne County into the Syracuse area. This should persist through the morning as it sinks south before dissipating early this afternoon.

An inch or so of snow accumulation will be possible over these eastern parts of the Finger Lakes.

Otherwise, skies will be more clouds than sun, but some break of sunshine are likely.

Mixed skies will persist through tonight and into Thursday.

Temperatures today will hold steady near or just above 30 degrees before falling into the 20s overnight.

Very little upward movement in the temperature is expected on Thursday either, with highs in the mid to perhaps upper 20s.

Watching Friday, Christmas

There are currently two highly uncertain systems to keep a close eye on.

The first will be a warm front that will lift through the area later Friday. Out ahead of this front, precipitation will break out early Friday as an area of snow and possibly some icy mixed precipitation.

The area where this wintry weather sets up remains uncertain. There is a chance most of the precipitation falls north of the Finger Lakes, with mostly a few light showers in our region. However, especially for the more northern areas, several inches of snow and some ice will also be a possibility.

This should become more clear over the next day or so and will likely be the main focus of my report Thursday morning.

Another system will impact the region on Christmas Day, Monday. Cold air should be plentiful to keep any precipitation snow, but how much falls remains nothing but speculation at this point.

Again, it appears that areas further north may have a better chance for accumulating snow, but this is still much too far out for any confidence. Stay tuned.