Shot of Snow
An area of high pressure will pass through the region today ahead of a warm front overnight.
The region is split to start this morning with lake effect clouds and snow showers to the northeast and sunshine to the southwest.
Southwesterly flow will become established over the entire region this morning, pushing the lake effect out. However, the window for sunshine over the northeastern Finger Lakes will be shorter with new clouds gradually building in from the west.
Still, the clouds will be thin enough at first to allow at least some filtered sunshine through the late morning and early afternoon before thicker clouds arrive later.
Wind speeds will remain light today, coming in under 10 mph with top gusts of 15-20 mph. Afternoon highs will range through the 30s, but most areas will end up somewhere around 35 degrees.
Temperatures will only drop a couple degrees this evening and should stay around 30 degrees overnight.
The first snow showers may start to move in around sunset and should increase into the evening. The main snow, however, will not develop until after midnight as the front approaches.
Widespread snow, some heavy, will fall during the predawn and early morning hours. The morning commute will likely be sloppy, but with temperatures starting to rise into the low 30s, the roads should be fairly easily treatable. Road conditions will likely vary based on treatment plans, especially as the morning goes on.
By the late morning and midday hours, the heaviest snow will move eastward. Through noon, most areas should see 1-3 inches of snow, but some eastern higher elevations could see slightly more.
Lighter precipitation will linger through the afternoon. For areas west of about Seneca Lake, this should mostly or all be rain. To the east, precipitation type is more of a question.
Northeastern areas, such as Onondaga County, may continue to see some snow. Other areas further south may see some rain, but with higher elevations possibly seeing freezing drizzle.
High temperatures will be quite variable, reaching the low 40s across the western areas and into the broad valleys of the Southern Tier. Some higher elevations in the east may struggle to get much above freezing.
Tuesday evening, a cold front will move through. Winds will turn from the southwest to the west and eventually northwest. Some limited lake effect snow will develop over the northeastern Finger Lakes with a localized inch or two before it dissipated early Wednesday.
Overnight lows will only drop to around 30 degrees.
Eyeing the Late Week
A period of quiet weather is expected to start once the limited lake effect dissipates Wednesday morning. There may be some areas with some sunshine Wednesday afternoon.
Tuesday evening’s cold front will not be overly strong with highs Wednesday still reaching the mid 30s. Partly cloudy skies Wednesday night will allow temperatures to slide back into the mid 20s.
Thursday, Christmas Day, looks cloudy but quiet with no precipitation expected. Afternoon highs will be in the upper half of the 30s with a few warm pockets hitting 40 degrees.
Quiet weather should extend into Friday morning, but then an area of low pressure will pass through the region.
At this point, precipitation type is very difficult to tell and slightly shifts in the pattern could yield very different results.
One option that is on the table is for an extended period of freezing rain. Other options include mostly snow falling with moderate accumulations, or a mix of rain, snow, and ice. Even mostly rain falling is still an option as well.
Coming right after Christmas and at the start of the weekend, this has the potential to impact travel plans, not only in the Finger Lakes but in the surrounding areas as well.
With the high uncertainty, there are not any additional specifics I can get into at this point, so it would be best to hold your travel related questions for another day or two while keeping a cautious eye on the forecast.
Models are in a basic agreement that a warm up should follow this event with rain on Sunday, transitioning to some chilly weather early next week.
Beyond that, though, the models are wildly variable for the weather to close out 2025 and ring in the new year, so there are not any firm conclusions that can be drawn at this time.
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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