Lake effect snow will hit some areas hard and others barely at all
Our latest plunge of cold temperatures and wind chills on the back of strong southwesterly winds have already caused a swath of snow to spray much of Jefferson county this morning with moderate to heavy snow and blowing snow. Watertown city schools are already dismissing early. Keep track of any school closings, delays or postponements by clicking here. There is a high probability of additional school closings for Thursday morning as quite a bit of lake effect snow should occur east of Lake Ontario through tonight and Thursday.
Here is how the lake effect snow should develop and progress:
Snow should continue northeast of Lake Ontario through the rest of the Thursday with the steadiest snow in Jefferson and southwestern Saint Lawrence counties. Some lighter snow is likely in Lewis and extreme northern Oswego county, too. A large 1-4” spray of snow is likely to be on the ground by 5pm Wednesday with amounts closer to 4-8” in the steadiest squalls. Click here for a forecast map of snowfall by 5pm Wednesday. Be aware that blowing and drifting snow will hamper plow efforts to completely remove snow. In addition, with temperatures in the teens, the salt brine mixture that plows use to help melt the snow on roadways will be less effective compared to temperatures between 25-32°. The rest of central New York, the Mohawk Valley, the Finger Lakes and southern tier should be relatively quiet a mixture of sunshine and clouds and nothing worse than flurries.
Snow squalls should intensify around dinnertime this evening in southern Jefferson county and northern Lewis county. Snowfall rates should increase to at least 1 to 2” per hour inside the lake effect snow bands tonight. Squalls should continue to sag southbound into southern Lewis, much of Oswego, and northern Oneida counties during the overnight. It appears that the bands of snow should approach but probably remain just north of the Onondaga-Oswego county border by sunrise Thursday. Syracuse appears to be outside of any main snow bands. Utica may be right on the edge but probably just to the south of the main bands. Snow should continue across central and southern Oswego and northern Oneida counties Thursday morning before heading back northbound through northern Oswego county and into much of Lewis and southern Jefferson county by sunset Thursday. Here is my forecast for new snowfall between sunset Wednesday and sunset Thursday. Note the heavy accumulations, especially for sections of Oswego, extreme northern Oneida, and western Lewis counties. Once again, many areas from roughly the Thruway corridor and points south should not receive the main bands of lake effect snow. I will caution everyone, though. A very small shift in the wind flow could cause these snow bands to move or wobble a bit further south or north. That is why it is very important to keep informed on the latest information via our newscasts and our website.
Will your commute be affected by this latest round of localized snow? Let us know by commenting on this web story.
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