More Snow Coming
A quick moving weather system brought light snow accumulations to the Finger Lakes overnight, and we are not done with the snow yet.
Skies have cleared in the wake of that system for a chilly, yet beautiful and scenic snowy morning. As the sun heats the surface, puffy clouds will bubble up this morning.
By the afternoon, scattered snow showers will dot the region, much like they did yesterday afternoon. The air is a bit colder today, so the snow showers may be more plentiful than yesterday.
A cold northwest wind will gust between 30-40 mph today. High temperatures will be in the upper 30s and low 40s.
Skies will clear this evening, but a south wind will develop, keeping temperatures in the 20s. Some thin clouds will work in from the southwest just before dawn Friday.
Clouds will continue to thicken during the daytime hours Friday and snow will work back in during the late afternoon. Steady snow will fall through Friday night, especially across the southern half of the region.
The snow will taper off early Saturday morning with a range of snow totals across the region. Counties that border Pennsylvania in the south could see as much as five inches, while the counties along Lake Ontario see an inch or less.
I will have a snow map and full Snow Report for this system later this afternoon, or tomorrow morning at the latest.
Staying Cool
The rest of Saturday will be dry with increasing sunshine. Temperatures will range through the 40s, with the warmest readings to the north where the snow accumulations were less.
Another batch of south and southwest winds will take hold Saturday night and into Sunday, giving temperatures a brief boost.
Highs on Sunday should reach into the mid and upper 50s. One or two urban areas may even manage to reach 60 degrees.
Sunday will have a mix of sun and clouds with a few late day or evening rain showers as a cold front moves through. That front will ensure our temperatures remain below normal well into next week.
Monday and Wednesday next week look dry, but rain and snow showers are possible both Tuesday and Thursday. Friday also looks rainy as a stronger storm system moves overhead.
Temperatures next week do not look quite as chilly as this week, with highs mostly in the upper half of the 40s.
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Caroline Hecht
Do you have stats to answer to question “how often does it snow in April in our area (Ithaca, Finger Lakes, etc)?” By “how often” I mean “in what percent of years could we expect to see more than a trace of snow in April?”. For example, if you look back 20 years, did we get an April snow twice, or 6 times, etc?
Meteorologist Drew Montreuil
Hi Caroline. Great question. We get snow almost every year in April. Ithaca, for example, averages 3.7″ in April. The last time there was not even a trace of snow in April was 2008. The next three “recent” years without April snow include 2005, 1998, and 1984!
For the record, the average snow in May for Ithaca is greater than zero, but just barely, at 0.1″.
Caroline Hecht
Thank you! I always thought it was roughly one in every four years for measurable snow in April, but it sounds like it’s even more often.
Ingrid Center
Drew, love your forecasts. I know whether to wear my super warm socks, whether the migrating birds will be flying with the south wind at their back, and your well chosen words make me appreciate the finger lakes geography even more . Makes me keep looking up at cloud formations too. Thanks
Meteorologist Drew Montreuil
Thanks for your message, Ingrid! I am very happy to hear 🙂