Lake Effect Snow Gets Going Today, Lasts Through Wednesday

JAMESTOWN – The Lake Effect Snow Machine is all gassed up and ready to go. Snow will be increasing in coverage from north to south through the day and lasting through much of the day on Wednesday with a winter chill.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for much of the Southern Tier, going into effect at 5 p.m. this afternoon and running through 1 a.m. Thursday morning for the combination of lake effect snow and blowing snow.

After the passage of a Cold front, temperatures have been going downhill since our early morning high of 50 degrees. As the colder air has moved over the warmer waters of Lake Erie, that has trigged a lake response and a band of lake effect snow that has been impacted the north county. That band will sag further south and start to impact areas near the NY/PA line later in the day. Some wind gusts could be near 40 MPH at times.

All of the models we have looked at in the weather center have showed the band moving farther north in the morning hours of Wednesday and impact the Buffalo/metro area. This will leave the Southern Tier with a bit of a break. However, that break will be short as the winds drag the band back south again through the day. The band will sag further south later in the day and began to fall apart through the evening hours.

In terms of overall accumulations, the higher terrain of the Southern Tier could likely pick up around 4 to 5 inches. Some localized total could be near 6 inches, 3 to 4 inches across the lower elevations with lower totals father east and south.

We remain chilly through the remainder of the week before another warmup will return over the weekend. However, much like the last one, it too will be brief as we will be right back into winter early next week with a few snow showers.