BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A massive storm system moves into WNY Thursday morning with temperatures slowly moderating to above freezing, mainly near the lakeshore. Areas inland and north will tend to keep the cold air and as the massive system begins to modify, colder air will cause rain to switch to snow as the cold air takes over.
Winter Weather Advisories are in place across WNY through the day on Thursday from freezing rain to slushy snow accumulations. Here is a rundown of the Weather Alerts in place:
Winter Weather Advisory 1am Thursday through 7pm Thursday for Southern Erie, Wyoming, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany Counties. A wintry mix will bring snow, sleet and freezing rain on Thursday. From a .10" of an inch of ice in S. Erie county to .2" of an inch of ice for the S.Tier. Winds may gust to 45mph and snow accumulations possible between 1-2".
Winter Weather Advisory 4am Thursday through 4pm Thursday for N. Erie, Genesee, Niagara and Orleans Counties. A wintry mix will bring snow and rain Thursday with less than an inch of snow and a few hundredths of an inch of ice possible. Wind gusts near 40mph.
Winter Storm Watch, Friday evening through Sunday morning for N.Erie and Genesee county. Lake effect snow in most persistent bands may lead to totals over 9"
Winter Storm Watch, Friday evening through Tuesday evening for S.Erie, Wyoming, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus county. Lake effect snow in most persistent bands may lead to totals over 9",
THURSDAY:
3AM-7AM Sleet/freezing rain moves into WNY, mainly with light accumulations across the S.Tier and northern Pennsylvania.
7AM-Noon : There may be a brief period during the morning drive that the city can experience snow or freezing rain before turning to all rain. Rain showers will be the norm for areas along the lake through the day. Winds may gust to 40-45mph.
Noon-6PM: Cold air is entrenched across much of the area with slushy snow accumulations, with more of a mix closer to Buffalo and rain showers near the shoreline. Don't expect any real accumulation for the city with majority of the precipitation falling as rain.
6PM-8AM FRIDAY: Expect more of the same with colder air for areas to the east. Most locations from Batavia to Wellsville will have about 3-5" of accumulation. Winds gust near 30mph.
FRIDAY:
8AM-8PM Scattered showers and snow showers, not wide spread as Thursday and featuring some dry time with temperatures continuing to teeter in the mid 30s.
8pm-MIDNIGHT: Lake snow takes shape as winds align and colder air once again moves in with the initial band near the city of Buffalo.
MIDNIGHT-8AM Lake effect snow jogs southward to immediate southtowns
8AM-2PM Lake snow is on the move northward to the city of Buffalo and potentially northward to Grand Island.
The unknowns is how long it will remain north. Some models suggest the lake band will drift south to the southtowns into the afternoon and make the move over the stadium from 8pm into the early morning hours of Sunday and continue to move south into the S.Tier Sunday and for the beginning of next week.
