JAMESTOWN – The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Lake Effect Snow, going into effect a 1 AM Saturday and lasting through 11 PM Saturday for Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Southern Erie Counties.
A system passing to our south has been producing some light snowfall across the Southern Tier early today, which is now changing over to plain rain showers for some. However, things will be changing late tonight into Saturday.
The winds will shift around to the west and southwest, allowing a band of lake effect snow to setup through the overnight hours tonight. The band will first start north near the Buffalo metro and then jog south into the Southern Tier through the night into Saturday.
The winds will also increase to 15 to 35 MPH with gusts near 45 MPH, which will not only help drive and move the lake band, but will also cause some limited blowing snow and reduced visibilities at times.
We will also be contending with a wind chill factor on Saturday as well. Feels like temps could easily dip into the teens for Saturday as those winds pick up.
The band should begin to break apart late in the day on Saturday and should fall apart by Saturday night, leaving just a few potato flakes left over for Sunday.
In terms of accumulations, a good 7 to 9 inches are likely across the highest elevations of the Southern Tier, mainly in Ski County, with 4 to 6 inches possible across lower elevations, and 2 to 4 inches elsewhere.
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