Weekend Weather Forecast
A predawn cold front has moved through the Finger Lakes with a burst of snow and a quick drop in temperatures.
The sun is now shining for much of the region with some lake effect clouds and a few snow showers along and north of the Thruway. This should push further north with time today, with most of the snow contained to the Onondaga-Oswego county line.
Blustery west-northwest winds have been left in the wake of the front. Winds will remain strong into the early afternoon before a gradual decrease for the latter part of the day.
Temperatures will mainly hold steady in the low and mid 20s.
Clouds will slowly increase tonight, though many of the clouds will be thin enough to allow for some moonlight to shine through. Lake effect will persist in the far northeastern sliver of the region, even into Saturday morning.
Overnight lows will drop into the mid 10s.
Focus will then turn to late Saturday as the next weather system builds in. Widespread snow will move into the region during the late afternoon and early evening hours. The precipitation may be light at first but will increase in intensity as the evening goes on.
I still believe there will be some sleet mixing in, at the very least across portions of the Southern Tier. The chances for an icy mix will decrease with northward extent, and I feel that most areas north of the southern tips of Cayuga and Seneca lakes will mainly stay snow.
The heaviest snow from this system will stay to our southeast, with a widespread 3-6 inches across our region. The highest amounts will be further east, so areas like Cortland and Syracuse will have the best shot at getting or slightly exceeding 6 inches. On the flip side, areas like Rochester will be closer to 3 inches.
I will likely have a special update mid-morning Saturday to further clarify these details and hone in on the areas most likely to see some sleet mix in.
Most of the steady snow should be out of the area by sunrise Sunday, but snow showers will linger throughout the day, gradually transitioning over to areas of lake effect. It will not be snowing all day, and most areas will see no more than an additional inch or so of accumulation.
Active Weather Pattern
We are at a turning point in our winter right now.
Throughout December and January, it was cold, but the active weather pattern mainly stayed out of our region.
The vast majority of the snow we have seen this year so far has been lake effect with an occasional cold front bringing brief squalls.
However, we have now shifted to a more active weather pattern with a few widespread precipitation events recently and several more to come in the near future.
Monday will be a break between systems, not unlike today, just without the wind. There will be a few lake effect snow showers in the northeastern parts of the region, with some sun elsewhere. Temperatures will be in the mid 20s.
Clouds will increase on Tuesday and snow will be possible late in the day. This system, too, looks most intense to our southeast, but a few inches of snow will be possible here. There is still a long way to go before this system arrives, so shifts in this expectation are likely.
Wednesday will be the next day between systems, and like Sunday, will likely have some snow showers about the region.
Another widespread precipitation event is likely on Thursday. It is too early to tell precipitation types this far out.
Next weekend may feature yet another large weather system passing through with an active weather pattern possibly continuing into the following week.
Temperatures will generally remain in the 20s with brief jumps into the 30s possible, depending on the paths these weather systems take.
More Information:
» Finger Lakes Weather Radar
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This graphic represents an average over the entire Finger Lakes region. Localized variations should be expected. Stay Updated With Email Alerts
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