Lake snows taper off, warmer air on the way

finger lakes weather forecast tuesday march 12 2019 lake effect snow sun warming trend — Snow showers are flying Tuesday morning, but the day will end on a sunny note. [Photo by Joan Lockwood, Newfield]

Morning Lake Effect

A spray of flurries and a few heavier bursts of lake effect snow exists across the Finger Lakes this morning.

The snow will gradually taper off through the morning with just a few stray flurries lingering into the afternoon, mostly in Cortland and Onondaga counties.

Up to an inch of snow could accumulate this morning, but most areas will only see a coating.

A few untreated roads could be a touch slick but mostly travel this morning should be ok.

Once the lake effect diminishes, skies should trend sunnier. By this evening, skies will be mostly clear.

Temperatures will top out in the mid 30s before dropping back through the 20s this evening.

An increase in cloud cover and a developing south wind will keep temperatures in the 20s overnight and into Wednesday morning.

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Warming Trend

Scattered rain showers will move in Wednesday morning as warm air starts to push north. A few areas in the Southern Tier and Central New York could see a little freezing rain at first.

Temperatures on Wednesday should work into the 40s, though how warm it gets may depend on how much rain is falling.

Thursday should have some partial sunshine early before clouds and showers work back in late.

High temperatures will range through the 50s with the warmest temperatures possibly approaching 60 degrees along and west of I-390.

Clouds and showers will keep temperatures near or just above 50 degrees Thursday night. This will transition into a quick jump into the upper 50s and low 60s Friday. This time, it is areas further east that will be the warmest.

A cold front will drop temperatures into the 40s by Friday evening.

A few snow showers will be in the area this weekend and into early next week.

A slow and steady warming trend should take place later next week and beyond. Long range models show this as the beginning of a long-term trend toward warmer weather, but it is far from certain.

Be wary of premature declarations of winter being over though every day brings us closer to that eventual reality.