Areas of lake effect through the weekend, then warming temperatures

The weather will remain wintry through the weekend but with generally low impacts. Warmer weather will shut down the lake effect snow next week.

Friday

What: Areas of lake effect snow

Where: Far northern Cayuga/Onondaga counties; Southern Tier

Impacts: Generally none; Minimal in the Southern Tier; High north of Syracuse.

Most of the Finger Lakes will have a quiet Friday, but west-southwest winds will bring in some lake effect to the edges of the region.

Snow off Lake Ontario will be much heavier than anything off Lake Erie. The snow will just clip the very northern end of Cayuga County and into Onondaga County, mainly north of Syracuse. The city of Syracuse itself will see some occasional snow, but with minimal impacts. Traveling north of the Thruway, however, will be difficult.

Off Lake Erie, a spray of generally light snow showers will move across the Southern Tier, here defined roughly as areas south of the southern tips of Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga Lakes. Little to no accumulation is expected for most areas.

The rest of the region will be cloudy with a few glimpses of sun here and there possible. Highs will be in the low and mid 20s. Winds will be noticeable, but not overly strong, with top gusts under 25 mph.

Friday Night

What: Areas of lake effect snow

Where: Mainly in the far northeastern FLX

Impacts: None for most; Medium in and around Syracuse

Lake Erie snow showers will shut down early in the evening, leaving most of the area dry overnight.

However, lake effect snow will continue in northern Cayuga and Onondaga counties, gradually coming a bit further south into Syracuse overnight. The heaviest snow should stay in Oswego County.

Overnight lows will be in the low and mid 10s.

Saturday

What: Lake snows off Lake Ontario

Where: Wayne, northern Cayuga, Onondaga counties

Impacts: Low-Medium

The Lake Ontario snow band will continue to push slightly further to the south early Saturday morning and remain in place much of the day. The southern edge of the band should be in the area of Newark-Auburn-Tully.

The snow will be steady and moderate with a couple inches of accumulation. Travel will be impacted in a low to medium way, with some snowy roads, depending on treatment and traffic loads.

The remainder of the region will be mostly cloudy. Highs will be in the mid 20s with similar wind speeds to today.

Saturday Night

What: Widespread snow

Where: Region-wide

Impacts: Low-Medium

A front will bring increasing snow showers to the area Saturday evening and overnight. A few embedded squalls may be possible, but these should not be as intense as the New Year’s Eve squall. Accumulations will generally be an inch or so. Most of the snow should exit before sunrise. Overnight lows around 20 degrees.

finger lakes weather 7-day forecast fri jan 2 | fri, a few lake flakes low 20 | sat, limited lake effect mid 20 | sun, areas of snow mid 20 | mon, late snow showers mid 20 | tues, rain, some mix late mid 30 | wed, mostly cloudy upper 30 | thur, mostly cloudy near 40 — This graphic represents an average over the entire Finger Lakes region. Localized variations should be expected. Click to enlarge.

Sunday

What: Lake Ontario lake effect snow

Where: South of the lake, across much of the region

Impacts: Low

North-northwest winds behind the front will kick up more lake effect snow on Sunday, this time spreading across much of the region. Snow will be most sporadic across the counties bordering Pennsylvania

The snow may come and go throughout the day. Accumulations will be 1-3 inches on average. Road conditions will vary, but most main roads should remain in decent shape. Winds should be light enough to produce only minimal drifting.

Afternoon highs will be in the mid 20s.

Monday-Tuesday

What: Late day precipitation

Where: Region-Wide

Impacts: Minimal

Both Monday and Tuesday will be quiet most of the day, followed by some light precipitation late. Whether this arrives before or after sunset each day remains uncertain, but Monday is more likely than Tuesday to have daytime precipitation.

Monday’s precipitation will be all snow. Accumulations should be no more than an inch.

Tuesday’s precipitation will mostly be rain, though a few pockets of snow or ice will be possible.

Winds both days will remain light. Temperatures will rise to the mid 20s Monday afternoon, then the upper 20s Monday night. Tuesday will continue to warm, with mid 30s during the day and nighttime hours.

Wednesday-Next Weekend

What: Mild Temperatures

A small January thaw will take hold for the second half of next week. Daily highs will be up around 40 degrees with nighttime temperatures remaining in the 30s.

Some occasional rain will be possible, especially Friday and again Saturday night.

The mild weather is expected to retreat thereafter, though temperatures look as though they will just moderate, not turn frigid.

More Information:

» Finger Lakes Weather Radar

» Zip Code Forecasts

» Your Forecast

» 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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