Strong Cold Front
A potent cold front will sweep through the Finger Lakes this morning, ushering in an air mass worth of mid-winter.
Snow showers and squalls are scattered about the region ahead of this front early this morning. Snow associated with the front will continue off and on through the morning.
There may be some brief periods of low visibility and messy roads as squalls pass through, while other times the weather will seem tranquil.
Southwest winds, which kept temperatures up overnight, will swing around to the northwest by the late morning as the front clears the area.
Once the wind changes direction, its speed will increase notably. Gusts during the midday and afternoon may be as high as 40 mph, leading to areas of blowing snow.
A narrow band of strong lake effect snow should develop as the Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario team up. This band will start out from Wayne County to the Syracuse area early in the afternoon, then drop south slowly from there.
By the mid-afternoon, the band should be stretching from Rochester to Auburn to Cortland. By the early evening, the band will be starting to weaken as it approaches areas such as Penn Yan and Ithaca.
This band will lead to low visibility and rapidly changing road conditions. Some parts of Wayne, Cayuga, Onondaga and Cortland counties may see a few inches accumulate, but most areas should see less thanks to the transient nature of the band.
The Southern Tier will see only snow showers during the mid-evening hours as the band quickly falls apart once the lake connection is broken.
Winds will quickly die down this evening as well, becoming mainly calm by the late evening. This will further reduce the influence of the lakes, with breaks in the clouds becoming more common after midnight.
Temperatures today will hold steady for a while this morning, then start to fall. By the late afternoon, temperatures will only be in the low 20s with wind chill values in the single digits.
It will continue to get colder tonight, and many areas will end up under 10 degrees. Some areas along and east of I-81 may even flirt with slipping below zero.
A south wind will begin to develop in the predawn hours, increasing to around 10 mph for Friday. Skies will be a mix of sun and clouds.
Despite the sun and southerly flow, temperatures on Friday will top out in the mid 20s with a few pockets of upper 20s.
Weather This Weekend, Next Week
Southerly flow will continue into Friday night, but it will take a while for warm air to move this far northward. As such, most areas should slip under 20 degrees Friday night.
Clouds and perhaps a few snow showers will be possible on Saturday as warmer air finally starts to make inroads into the region as low pressure passes across eastern Canada. Afternoon highs will reach the mid 30s.
Saturday’s winds will mainly be under 10 mph, gradually turning slightly to a southwesterly direction. A further turn to the west is likely Saturday night as the low presses further east, with wind speeds dropping and eventually becoming mostly calm by early Sunday.
A cold front will pass through later Sunday with some snow showers and a turn in the winds to the north. Temperatures will start Sunday in the lower half of the 20s with a high in the low 30s.
This front will bring another shot of cold air. Low temperatures Monday will be in the low 10s, and highs will only reach the low 20s. It will be a quiet day, though, with a mix of sun and clouds.
Monday night will challenge tonight as far as the cold goes, with many areas possibly down into the single digits again. An incoming weather system for Tuesday may bring in some clouds and southerly winds before the night is through, though, keeping it just a tad warmer.
Scattered snow showers are expected Tuesday and Wednesday and again later next week. None of this snow looks as though it will produce significant accumulations.
Temperatures will return to the 30s for the middle of next week before returning to the 20s later on.
More Information:
» Finger Lakes Weather Radar
» Zip Code Forecasts
» Get the FLX Weather Mobile App
This graphic represents an average over the entire Finger Lakes region. Localized variations should be expected.
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