A Day of Winter
West-northwest winds behind the strong low and cold front that moved through yesterday have led to a band of heavy lake effect snow off Lake Ontario.
So far this morning, the band has favored northeastern Wayne, northern Cayuga, and northern Onondaga counties, mainly staying near or north of I-90.
However, the band is slowly sinking southward and the models support a continuation of this movement. This should send heavy snow through Syracuse and into the areas just south of the city. The band may get as far south as Auburn, but probably not any further.
All of this southward movement will take place through the mid and late morning hours. Travel will be difficult with heavy snowfall rates and blustery winds. Even areas that only see the band for a couple of hours may still see several inches of accumulation.
By the early afternoon, the band should redevelop itself further north, mainly sticking to Oswego County and just the far northern reaches of Wayne, Cayuga, and Onondaga counties. Lighter snow will stick around in these areas through the late afternoon, finally dissipating this evening.
Elsewhere across the Finger Lakes, there will be some occasional snow showers this morning, including a few heavier bursts here and there. Most areas will see little to no additional snow accumulation, but select localized pockets could see upwards of an inch.
Snow showers will become less common this afternoon. In their place, sunshine will increase. Even this morning, areas of sunshine will be found between snow showers.
Winds will be stronger across the Finger Lakes than in the snow belts to the north with frequent gusts of 30-40 mph from the west-northwest.
These winds will keep temperatures mostly near or below 30 degrees today with wind chills in the 0s and 10s. Wind speeds will decrease substantially this evening and wind directions will turn to the southwest.
Warmer air will start to make inroads on these winds, counteracting the nighttime cooling beneath mostly clear skies. Temperatures should settle into the low and mid 20s for most of the night. However, some protected valleys and hollows could easily slip into the 10s.
Warm Weather Returns
Friday will be a sunny day as high pressure takes up residence to our southeast just off the Mid-Atlantic coast. The best chance for any substantial amount of cloud cover will be late in the afternoon and into the evening as some thin clouds move in from the southwest.
Winds will be from almost due south and will team up with the sun-filled skies to push temperatures upward. Many places will be about twenty degrees warmer than today, ranging from the mid 40s in higher elevations to the low 50s in some valley locations.
Clouds will thicken Friday night and some precipitation may move in before sunrise. This will be associated with a broad but disorganized area of low pressure moving through the Ohio Valley and into the Mid-Atlantic region.
Some pockets of freezing rain or sleet will be possible through sunrise on Saturday, mainly over the Southern Tier and Central New York regions. This may cause some slick roads early on, but temperatures will quickly push above freezing once the sun rises.
Scattered rain showers will continue for much of Saturday morning, gradually becoming more sporadic Saturday afternoon. Afternoon highs will be in the mid and upper 40s.
Sunday and Monday will both be rather cloudy as the unsettled weather lingers over the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Our region should be far enough west to keep rain out of our region, and some sunshine cannot be totally ruled out.
Warm air will continue to push back into the region, even without much in the way of sunshine. Highs on Sunday should be in the upper 50s while Monday shoots into the mid 60s.
Tuesday should be at least as warm as Monday, but with a bit more in the way of sunshine.
The next major weather maker will move in later Wednesday into Thursday with periods of rain. This system does not look nearly as windy as yesterday’s.
Temperatures should slide back somewhat behind this system for the end of next week and next weekend. However, cold air still looks lacking, and highs will probably remain in the 40s well into the following week.
More Information:
» Finger Lakes Weather Radar
» Zip Code Forecasts
» Get the FLX Weather Mobile App
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This graphic represents an average over the entire Finger Lakes region. Localized variations should be expected. Don’t Miss an Important Update
