Cold and Dry
It is another cold morning across the Finger Lakes with widespread single digits and low teens.
Skies are mixed, with some clouds in the western Finger Lakes and clear skies to the east. Sunshine will mix with clouds on and off throughout the day. A stray flurry cannot be totally ruled out, but anything that falls will be insignificant.
Today’s temperatures will end up a bit warmer than yesterday with highs mostly in the mid 20s. This is about where we should be for mid-January, even though it seems cold coming on the heels of our long stretch of mild weather.
Another night of teens and single digits is ahead as skies clear tonight. The coldest temperatures will be across the southern half of the region. A few pockets of sub-zero temperatures are even possible, especially in southeastern Cortland County.
Wednesday will be sun-filled and a bit warmer yet, with highs getting above freezing and into the mid 30s. Thursday and Friday will see upper 30s and a few low 40s with more sunshine and a few thin clouds.
Morning lows will continue to be cold though, with widespread teens and single digits.
Weekend Weather Buzz
Another round of weekend weather hype is starting to percolate.
Jet stream energy will dive south from Canada into the Plains on Thursday and Friday, spawning a weak low pressure system over the Mid-Mississippi Valley. This low will meander northeast, possibly redeveloping along the New England coast.
A stronger system could develop if the jet stream energy phases with additional energy further south, but that could also significantly alter the track.
There are many possibilities for this system locally, as shown by a wide range of scenarios on the European model ensembles.
Therefore, it is far from certain that we will see a significant snow from this, but that potential does exist. So does the potential that the system completely passes us by with zero impact. Now is a good time to pull out your favorite ‘0-20 inches of snow’ forecast joke, because that is literally what the ensembles are showing.
As usual, the truth will likely fall somewhere in the middle. But it is too early to do anything but wait and watch.
Whatever the case, behind this system looks to be another quiet stretch of weather with low chances for precipitation much of next week. Temperatures do not look as cold as the first part of this week, nor do they look as warm as the end of this week, with most days seeing highs around 30 degrees.
