Weekend Weather Forecast
A westerly flow has set up early Friday morning thanks to high pressure over the south-central United States.
The winds will slowly become southwesterly this afternoon as a small weather system moves into the northern Great Lakes.
With the wind shifting, lake effect has almost exited the region. Snow showers are mainly contained to far northern Cayuga and northern Onondaga counties and will move out of the area later this afternoon.
Outside of the lake effect, skies are clear this morning. Sunshine will gradually mix with clouds to varying degrees throughout the region. Some areas may hold on to partly cloudy or mostly clear skies throughout the day and into the evening.
Temperatures today will average out around 30 degrees, with low 30s in the warmer valleys and lake plains and upper and even mid 20s in the higher elevations.
Overnight lows will be in the mid and upper 10s for most with a gradual increase in cloud cover overnight.
Snow showers are likely on Saturday, coming from no fewer than four sources.
Frist, a cold front associated with that small weather system will pass through during the morning and midday hours. Snow along the front will be enhanced by some lake effect off Lake Erie that the front will pick up. Brief squalls, especially over the western half of the region, may result.
Lake Erie will continue to spread snow east into the southern half of the Finger Lakes during the afternoon as winds turn westerly. Eventually, this snow will be overtaken by more widespread snow associated with a second small weather system, this one passing to the south.
Like the Erie lake effect, this should mainly impact the southern half of the region, coming in the late afternoon and evening hours.
Finally, as this southern system passes by, Lake Ontario will supply some lake effect along its shore during the evening hours.
Most areas will see an inch or less of accumulation on Saturday. Some higher elevations in the Southern Tier may see two or three inches, and some locally moderate accumulations will be possible in extreme northeastern Wayne and extreme northern Cayuga counties.
Temperatures on Saturday will reach the low 30s, but will be dropping later in the day as cold air moves back in. Overnight lows will be in the lower half of the 10s.
On Sunday, winds will eventually turn more northerly. As this happens, the Lake Ontario snow band will move south as a squall, followed by additional snow showers late in the day scattered throughout the region.
Accumulations Sunday should be minimal, but travel could become difficult if the lake effect squall holds together well as it moves south.
It will be cold on Sunday with highs struggling to reach 20 degrees, and in some cases failing to do so.
Warming Up Next Week
Cold air will remain locked in place for Monday, but then a warming trend will quickly take over. Morning lows will again be in the lower half of the 10s. Afternoon highs will be in the low and mid 20s.
Lake effect snow showers will continue to be possible early Monday, followed by more widespread snow showers in the afternoon as the warmer air starts to push back.
Tuesday will be rather cloudy, though a few glimpses of sun here and there will be possible.
Morning lows will range through the 10s and afternoon highs will be around 30 degrees.
More substantial warming will take place during the middle of the week. Highs on Wednesday should be around 40 degrees, while mid 40s are possible on Thursday.
Wednesday, like Tuesday, will be rather cloudy but with a peek of sun here and there. Thursday will see rain showers moving into the area late in the day.
Temperatures will be knocked back slightly on Friday with highs in the 30s or even upper 20s. But upper 30s, at least, will return for next weekend and into the following week.
The milder weather will reduce our chances for a White Christmas, but it is far too early to count that out yet. Let’s wait and see just how warm it may get, and whether we can get a fresh coating of snow from a passing system before Christmas morning arrives.
More Information:
» Finger Lakes Weather Radar
» Zip Code Forecasts
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This graphic represents an average over the entire Finger Lakes region. Localized variations should be expected.
