We’ve got a clipper and arctic cold front coming in which will set off snow showers and snow squalls across the state. All areas will see gusty winds and times of near zero visibility with blowing and drifting snow. Here is the breakdown:
Through midday: Heavy lake effect snow nails Watertown and Buffalo areas during AM drive into mid morning. Gets into the Tug Hill (especially northern end) and Boston Hills (Buffalo area) late morning. Bands of snow begin to shift away by midday.
Midday through 3 PM: Burst of heavy snow with clipper/cold front and lake enhancement carries into the Adirondacks, Tug Hill (all areas), shifts south of Buffalo into the Southtowns and Ski Country. Rochester, Syracuse and Utica areas get hit with a quick few inches of snow.
PM Drive (3 PM – 7 PM): Heavy snow shifts out of the Thruway corridor and into the hills well S of Buffalo. This is where Chautauqua and Cattaraugus get hit good, Syracuse area and hills south and east get hit good. The squalls push through the Finger lakes and the whole of the Southern Tier with a quick inch or two, maybe three.
Night (7 PM to midnight) Areas near and north of Route 17 in Western NY, Syracuse area, hills to the south (Madison, N Cortland, N Chenango Counties) and near Lake Ontario (N Cayuga, Wayne Counties) get more snow.
Midnight to 7 AM – Lake effect slowly weakens and tapers off. Gusty winds continue. Bitter cold in all areas by morning
Here’s the snowmap
The weather will remain cold but quiet through the rest of the week. The weekend will be sunny and quiet this weekend with moderating temperatures. The cold will help clubs to pack down, freeze down and set up trails in the areas riding. As of this blog, the only clubs and areas that I know have riding are Old Forge/Inlet, areas of Hamilton County (snow is thin there), Brantingham (no connection to Tug Hill from Adirondacks as of this blog post), Southern Tug Hill, Turin Ridge Riders, Valley Snow Travelers, Barnes Corners Sno Pals, Osceola, Redfield, Worth. Always check with clubs before heading out.
All approaches to the Adirondacks and Tug Hill in Central NY STILL CLOSED as of this blog post. No clubs are open in Oneida County. Ohio Ridge Riders are still closed. I know per facebook Penn Mountain, Trackside Blazers and Ohio Ridge Riders have requested help with trails this weekend with many issues remaining to get their systems open and safe.
No major weather is expected until after Christmas at this time. There is hope by New Years we’ll get out of this unfavorable cold and snow pattern we’ve been in most of December… Keep your fingers crossed.
A new episode of the Trail Talk Podcast is up! Special thanks to Chris Rinck from Southern Tug Hill Sno-Riders for giving a great podcast. If you ever wanted to know about riding and issues on the Tug Hill, this is a great one to listen to.
Also while on the page, don’t forget to check out the podcast with neighboring club Turin Ridge Riders with Chris Skipper.
Many thanks to the clubs supporting and encouraging me and Zack on this reboot of Upstate Snow 2.0
God bless,
Rich & Zack
