Heavy snow band slowly working westward

Tuesday AM Storm Updates

One of the few things that is almost certain in a winter storm, especially one this complex, is that there will be surprises.

As expected, a heavy snow band moved into the Finger Lakes region from the west overnight. However, the band did not move as fast as expected, leading to a greater disparity in snow amounts this morning. Areas where the band has not yet arrived are seeing less snow than expected, but where the band sat, snow amounts are overachieving.

At 7 AM, the band was stretching from Syracuse to Moravia to just north of Elmira. Snow amounts to the east, where the band dumped over 1 inch per hour overnight, are on the order of 8-14 inches.

The band has been slowly weakening as it creeps westward, but still contains plenty of heavy snow.

Through the morning, the band should move faster, expand in size, and continue to drop in intensity. By noon, a broad area of moderate snow will focus on areas northwest of a Penn Yan to Auburn line.

Meanwhile, the areas that saw the heaviest snow last night should be seeing a lull with little to no snow falling.

Over the course of the afternoon, the snow will continue to expand, spreading back to the east. By 5 PM, moderate snow should be throughout the Finger Lakes. This will continue through the evening, but the area will start to pull east and contract.

The primary area of snow should depart the region before the sun is up on Wednesday, but a spray of light lake effect snow showers will linger into the late morning and midday hours.

In all, a wide area of 4-8 inches snow, with isolated amounts over 8 inches, is still to come for much of the Finger Lakes region. North-northwest wind gusts to 30 mph will also contribute to poor travel conditions into Wednesday.Additional expected snow during the day and overnight Tuesday. This map does not include that has fallen through 8 am Tuesday.

Beyond the Storm

Winter will continue to exert itself on our region behind this storm, with more active and cold weather in our future after a brief break.

Once the lake effect snows taper off Wednesday, some sunshine may work out for the afternoon. Temperatures will mostly stick to the 20s.

Skies will be sunny most of Thursday until a few clouds slide in late. Warmer air will start to work its way in, with highs ranging through the 30s.

Our next system will move through as a warm front early Friday. Most of the precipitation should fall as snow, but a little sleet cannot be ruled out. Snow accumulations should be limited to an inch or two. Precipitation will taper off for the afternoon, allowing some breaks of sun and southwest winds to push temperatures into the upper 30s and low 40s.

Colder air will move in overnight with a few lake effect snow showers early Saturday. Some afternoon sun may be possible, but highs will only be in the low and mid 20s.

Sunday, another coastal storm will try to develop. This will need to be monitored, but chances right now are greatest for a miss to the east. Still, some light snow can be expected late in the day and through the night.

Cold air will rush in behind that system, leading to lake effect snow throughout next week. Temperatures will bottom out on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with highs in the low and mid teens. The clouds and snow showers should prevent overnight temperatures from getting too cold.

Temperatures will slowly moderate toward the end of next week, but will probably stick in the 20s for the foreseeable future.

More Information:

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This graphic represents an average over the entire Finger Lakes region. Localized variations should be expected.