Today marks the third day of record-breaking “Lake Effect” snows in Upstate New York, Northwest Pennsylvania, and Northeast Ohio. Massive amounts of snow have fallen, with some areas in Erie County, PA, and the Southwestern Counties of NY measuring 50 to 60 inches so far.
It is not impossible that some of these places will receive triple-digit snowfall before the season ends. Lake Ontario and Lake Erie water temperatures were significantly higher than typical before this, increasing the amount of moisture that the surrounding air can hold and finally release.
Satellite loops and regional radars continue to show areas of snow moving onshore, which will linger until Tuesday. The “lake effect” snow machine will take a small break before restarting later this week. Snow regions will migrate east of Buffalo, NY, potentially delivering severe snowfall to locations like as Rochester and Syracuse, among others.
Meanwhile, over the coastal plain, which extends from Eastern Pennsylvania to Southern New England, unusually cold air has arrived and taken hold.
Today’s forecast calls for a partly sunny sky, a cool northwest breeze, and high temperatures in the 30s. Tonight, with mostly clear skies, most lows will be in the mid and upper teens inland, and in the low to middle 20s along the coast and in warmer cities.
The coming week will be cooler than usual in terms of temperature throughout the week and most likely through next weekend. In terms of weather systems, the northwest flow is moving systems southeastward from South Central Canada and into the Great Lakes and Northeast. The majority of these systems appear to be heading north and should bring little precipitation.
Cold days and nights are forecast for Monday and Tuesday ahead of the first system, which is expected to arrive Wednesday night into Thursday.
On both days, temperatures will begin in the upper teens to mid-20s, and with sunshine, highs will only reach the 30s to around 40 in some of the warmest metropolitan locations.
Wednesday will begin with sunlight, but clouds will gradually rise, keeping high temperatures in the 30s. As the first diver passes to the north on Wednesday night and Thursday, rain showers are probable near the immediate shore, as well as snow showers inland.
Thursday could be a little warmer once the precipitation ends, with highs returning to the 40s, particularly along the shore. Then, on Friday and Saturday, another blast of extremely cold air arrives, with highs in the 30s. Another diver may bring another chance of rain or snow on Sunday.