Snow, wintry mix on the way to CNY

SYRACUSE, NY (WSYR-TV) – We may be a couple days into spring, but winter isn’t ready to loosen its grip on us just yet…

Here comes the next storm

We’re not nearly as windy or wintry Friday as we were Thursday. But with that said we’re getting ready for our next round of wintry weather. Some start to spring, huh?

What is the timing??

• No travel issues Friday during the day. Increasing clouds.
• Light flurries develop during the Friday evening commute
• Widespread steady, wet snow moves from wet to east across the state between 8-10pm Friday.
• Wet snow continues to fall Friday night into Saturday.
• HOWEVER areas south of the Thruway could see a mix of rain and freezing rain (this includes Tully, Ithaca, Cortland, and Norwich). Lots of uncertainty as to how far north this rain/snow freezing line will be.
• Mainly wet snow Saturday morning through lunchtime
• Snow tapers off between 2-5pm Saturday

How much will I have to dig out Saturday morning?

Temperature plays a key role in this storm as low pressure tracks close to us and that causes some milder air to move north, perhaps as far north as Syracuse and the Thruway.  This is a VERY tricky forecast because location and temperature will make a big difference in snow totals.

Areas farther north of Syracuse seem to be locked into the cold air and this is where we have the highest confidence of all snow and thus the greatest accumulations. 8-12 inches looks like a good bet from the Tug Hill Plateau east surrounded by an area of 4 to 8 inches along and just north of the Thruway. Plowing or snow blowing in these areas seems likely.

Along that Thruway corridor, including Syracuse, is where the biggest question mark is. If Syracuse has a change to a mix of precipitation, this would keep the snow totals down. Snow totals will be very temperature dependent.

However, just a one or two degree change in temperature in the lower atmosphere would change the precipitation to all snowfall in this area so keep checking back.

Farther south closer to Binghamton only an inch or so of snow is expected.

Do I have to deal with wintry weather all day Saturday??

No.

This system is a fast mover, so the precipitation is tapering by the afternoon Saturday.  That along with the higher late March sun angle (even though hidden behind clouds) will help melt the snow on the roads as it winds down.

It is mainly dry on Saturday afternoon.

The sun is out brightly for Sunday making for a nicer end to the weekend. 

Running the Syracuse Half Marathon Sunday morning? It’ll be a cold, but sunny one! Temperatures will be below freezing during the race. Highs will rebound into the 30s in the afternoon.

Missing the spring weather? Don’t worry. 50’s are back next week.

See it here on the 7day forecast.