A slow-moving winter storm is tightening its grip on the Finger Lakes and Central New York, prompting the National Weather Service to upgrade some counties to Winter Storm Warnings while extending advisories elsewhere. Forecasters say a prolonged period of snow, lake-enhanced snowfall, and sharply colder air will impact the region through Friday, with the most dangerous travel conditions expected from late Wednesday night through Thursday.
Winter Storm Warning for Wayne and northern Cayuga counties
Wayne County and northern Cayuga County are now under a Winter Storm Warning from 7 p.m. Wednesday through 1 p.m. Friday. The National Weather Service says total snowfall of 5 to 10 inches is expected, with the highest accumulations across northern sections closer to Lake Ontario. Lake-enhanced and lake-effect snow will become increasingly dominant Thursday afternoon through Thursday night, allowing snow to persist longer in these areas than elsewhere in the Finger Lakes.
Travel is expected to be especially difficult along Route 104, Route 414 near Fair Haven, and stretches of the New York State Thruway near the Lake Ontario shoreline, where visibility may drop quickly in heavier lake-effect bands.
Winter Weather Advisories continue across the rest of the Finger Lakes
Winter Weather Advisories remain in effect for southern Cayuga, Ontario, Seneca, Yates, Schuyler, Steuben, and Tompkins counties. Snowfall totals in these counties are generally expected to range from 3 to 6 inches through Thursday, with locally higher amounts possible in eastern sections if lake-effect bands shift farther inland.
Forecasters say the Finger Lakes region will see slightly lower totals overall due to its distance from Lake Ontario, but the combination of snow and rapidly falling temperatures will still create hazardous travel, particularly during the Thursday morning commute.
Rain-to-snow transition remains a key forecast challenge
Mild air in place Wednesday afternoon will keep precipitation in the form of rain across much of the Finger Lakes and Central New York early on. Temperatures will fall rapidly late Wednesday night as a cold front pushes through, allowing rain to transition to snow from west to east, most likely after midnight…