Flood Watch In Effect Sunday Through Wednesday

JAMESTOWN – We’re finally getting out of the freezer we’ve been stuck for the past few days but a new weather threat is brewing.

The National Weather Service has issued an Areal Flood Watch for much of Western New York, going into effect 1 AM Sunday and running through 1 AM Wednesday.

Heading into the weekend, we’re going to see a major pattern shift in the upper levels, favoring a more southernly wind flow. That will bring some very mild air into Western New York through the next five or six days.

As we’ve been talking about, with the warmup that comes late this weekend into early next week, comes the potential for some flooding from rapid snow and ice melt.

Many area rivers and creeks have built up thick ice over the course of the season. In combination with the snow melt and the forecast rainfall across the region, that could cause water levels to rise and break up the ice, creating ice jams in spots where the ice cannot flow through narrow openings in river and stream channels.

If you live in flood-prone areas, pay attention to all flood advisories and warnings and take appropriate action.

Looking farther out beyond the 7-Day, some of the global computer models are trying to hint at another shot of Arctic air coming in to the Northeast by mid February. I’m not saying that it will or will not happen, but as you well know, this long-range stuff is “Voodoo Country” as anything can happen between now than. It is something we will monitor and keep you updated on as we go throughout the next couple of weeks.