Winter Storm Ending Saturday Morning
Less than 24 hours after seeing temperatures push into the 60s, the Finger Lakes is now coated with a layer of white with temperatures some 40-50 degrees colder.
The storm system that brought the cold, ice, and snow is now starting to pull away from the region.
Snow has already ended or will end shortly, across the Finger Lakes.
Clouds will gradually break up later this morning and into this afternoon, allowing some glimpses of sun to come out.
A few lake effect clouds along with a couple flurries and squalls will develop in the favored areas southeast of Lake Ontario later this afternoon and should persist through the night. Another couple of inches may fall in a few localized areas around Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco, and Skaneateles Lakes.
Otherwise, skies will remain partly cloudy through the night and into Sunday.
Cold Temperatures Linger
Temperatures Saturday morning are in the low and mid teens and will not rise much, if at all during the course of the day.
Northwest winds will gust between 25-35 mph, causing blowing snow and wind chills slightly below zero.
Temperatures Saturday night will drop below zero for many areas, except where lake effect clouds linger. There, temperatures should remain above zero.
High pressure will build in Sunday, ending the lake effect and resulting in mostly sunny skies.
Afternoon highs will reach the low and mid teens, but widespread sub-zero temperatures are expected Sunday night.
The coldest lows Monday morning will likely be across the Southern Tier, where some areas will reach -10 degrees.
Temperatures will rebound to the low 20s Monday afternoon.
Next Week Preview
After the quiet weather on Monday, a small system will swing through the area on Tuesday.
A widespread light snow will be possible with accumulations of an inch or so.
Wednesday and Thursday next week remain uncertain as another storm system moves into the northeastern United States.
Temperatures much of the week will be in the 20s or 30s, which is fairly typical for mid-January.
The weather is trending warmer towards the end of the week though, with above normal temperatures a possibility next weekend.
How Much Snow Fell?
Gail Dalmat
I WOULD love to help measure snow, Drew! BUT, snow is drifted against my door, making it a chore to get outside, I can see drifts ranging from 3″ (carport roof, exposed, almost flat) to about 14″ (shed out back, partly sheltered but it gets blown from one end to the other, resulting in about 4″ on the eastern/windy end, and the 14″ on the western/sheltered end). Dottie Neubert and I usually get pretty similar weather (she’s across Seneca Lake and not far south of me). Maybe she got out and measured? I CAN tell you it’s cold here, we are still getting brief spats of lake effect, and the wind was enough to blow snow off my roof blocking the back door, and to blow sleet and snow directly against my front door. So, snowbound in Willard. Apologies.
Marie-Ann
Still snowing here on 14a in Geneva!!! Almost 1pm…
Meteorologist Drew Montreuil
Lake effect has taken over now.