Snow Report: Wednesday Night-Thursday, February 12-13, 2020

After quiet daytime hours, snow will quickly move in late Wednesday evening and fall steadily overnight.

WHAT

An area of low pressure near Houston, Texas this morning will race northeast, ending up off the New England coast by Thursday afternoon. This low will spread precipitation into the Finger Lakes, mostly as snow but with some sleet and freezing rain across southern areas.

ALERTS ACTIVE

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES are in effect for all the Finger Lakes, as well as all Western New York, Central New York, and northern Pennsylvania.

WHEN

Snow will move into the Finger Lakes from southwest to northeast between 9 PM and midnight tonight. Steady moderate snow will fall through the night before tapering off to lighter snow around sunrise.

Snow will turn to sleet for a couple hours near dawn roughly from Bath to Ithaca to Cortland and for areas south. Some freezing rain will be possible in Tioga, Chemung, and southern Steuben county.

On and off light snow will continue through Thursday, especially along and north of about Route 20.

HOW MUCH

Most of the Finger Lakes will see between 4-6 inches of accumulation, most of it coming by dawn Thursday. Lower elevations and those near lakes will likely end up closer to 4 or 5 inches, while higher elevations have the best chance at seeing 6 inches.

Areas that see sleet mix in are also more likely to stick closer to 4 inches. Parts of the Southern Tier, including Elmira, should see less than 4 inches.

TEMPERATURES

Temperatures will hold steady in the low 30s throughout Wednesday night and for much of the day on Thursday.

TRAVEL IMPACTS

Travel this evening will have minor impacts as the snow begins. Roads will start to become slick as the snow begins.

Slight travel impacts are expected for the morning commute. Those who commute earlier will see a greater impact. With temperatures near freezing and the heaviest snow falling before the commute, road crews should be able keep main roads in decent shape for the commute. Plan to reduce speeds slightly at times and allow for some extra travel time, especially if you commute on rural roads.

Only minor impacts are expected during the daytime hours Thursday with lighter snow. Main roads should generally just be wet with some messy secondary roads.

OTHER IMPACTS

A glaze of ice will be possible in the Southern Tier from freezing rain, but most of the region will not see ice.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE

HIGH- While some variation is always expected in events where multiple precipitation types are in play, much of the region should end up in the 4-6 inch snow range with most of the snow coming overnight. Significant deviations from this are not expected.

FUTURE SNOW OUTLOOK

On and off snow will continue into Thursday afternoon, especially near Lake Ontario. A few brief snow bursts will be possible.

A narrow but stronger band of lake effect snow may drop several additional inches of snow Thursday night across Wayne, northern Cayuga, and Onondaga counties. Scattered snow showers will be possible elsewhere. These lake snows should end Friday morning.

FUTURE UPDATES

• Regular Thursday morning blog post (Between 7-8 AM Thursday)
• Thursday Night Snow Report, if necessary (Between 3-5 PM day)
• Regular Friday morning blog post (Between 7-8 AM Friday)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Get the forecast for your Zip Code
• Finger Lakes Weather Radar
• Ask Meteorologist Drew Montreuil a question
• Advertise on Finger Lakes Weather