weather

Only in Western New York could people be excited about a warming trend that's going to lift the temperature to 30 degrees, but a "warming trend" starts Tuesday.

The high over the next four days is expected to range from 27 degrees to 31 degrees.

That's a big improvement over the minus-0 degrees we've had the past couple of days.

There is a chance of snow tomorrow afternoon and could be as much as one inch of accumulation Tuesday night and a chance of more snow on Wednesday.

But 30 degrees? Break out the short sleeve shirts!

Barn Picture: Route 33, near Bergen.

Currently, there are no warnings, advisories or watches from the National Weather Service, just an anticipation tonight of very cold temperatures.

It will be cold tomorrow, too, with temperatures dipping below 20 degrees.

And there will likely be some more snow -- flurries this afternoon and a little snow tonight, and about a 60-percent chance of snow tomorrow.

The wind will blow at about 15 mph tomorrow.

Expect three to five inches of lake effect snow tonight.

The National Weather Service has issued a lake effect snow advisory for the region from 9 p.m. until 10 a.m.

And other one or two inches of snow could fall in the morning.

The Weather Service says to, "expect patchy lake effect snow bands to cross the region overnight into Friday morning. While the bands will be localized, expect heavier bands to produce snowfall rates of an inch an hour or greater, with visibility below a half mile."

Drivers should expect shifting snow patterns as they travel as well as driving and blowing snow.

Expect blowing snow the rest of the day, making travel conditions difficult.

The National Weather Service has kept the lake effect snow warning in place through 6 p.m., but said the bands may drop only about an inch of accumulation.

Winds, however, of up to 35 mph will hamper visibility and cause drifts, potentially into roadways. Temperatures will drop into the teens by tonight, with a windchill factor of zero or colder.

More pictures from late this morning after the jump:

Lake effect snow is expected to hit Western New York about 10 p.m. and intensify overnight.

The National Weather Service had issued an advisory, but has now downgraded its bulletin to a warning.

The warning remains in effect until 6 p.m. tomorrow.

Officials warn of treacherous driving conditions in the morning with three to six inches of fresh snow having fallen overnight.

An Arctic front may disrupt the snow band Thursday morning, but the wind will also bring its own snowfall across all of Western New York.

The Arctic front could drop from six to 10 inches of snow.

From Thomas Lowe:

There are three roads in the Town of Alexander that are closed due to high water levels from flooding. They are Peaviner Road, Cookson Road, and Old Creek Road. These roads are under from five to twelve inches of water that is flowing very fast across them. The water has washed out gravel in the roadways and there are drop offs at these crossings that could trap a vehicles wheels and cause the flooding of the engine compartment. There are some ice sheets in the road that are approximately two inches thick. There are road closed barricades at the intersections of these roads, do not go around them, as the roads are very dangerous to traverse with the water crossing and the washouts cut into the gravel.

Snow melt combined with heavy rains later tonight could lead to flooding, according to a Flood Watch issued by the National Weather Service.

The watch is in effect starting at 9 p.m. through early Monday evening.

Creeks will start to run over first, possibly impacting the morning commute.  Small streams may run high as well.

Expect slick roads this morning.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for much of Western New York.

A freezing drizzle over night is expect to continue and keep roads icy until 11 a.m.

The weather service advises caution on untreated roads and urges commuters to allow extra time to get to work.

We really don't need cold like we had yesterday.  Burr.

A projected high today of 27 almost sounds like relief, but Thursday projected high of 38 is something to look forward to.

There is a chance of snow by noon, and a better chance of snow in the afternoon, but don't expect more than an inch of accumulation.

We might see a little sun on what Weather Underground calls a "partly cloudy" day, but we're more likely to see a little more snow.

Temperatures will hover in the mid 20s.

And looking forward over the next few days, the cold and dabs of snow is likely to continue.

There could be some snow today, or even a freezing drizzle, but mostly it's going to be cloudy and cold.

The expected high is 22 degrees.

The wind could blow from 10 to 20 mph.

We're hearing reports this morning of several non-injury accidents throughout Genesee County.

I-490 seems to be a particularly slick area with at least three accidents, including a rollover, and several cars off the road.

One patrol officer noted that even after DOT salted, drivers were not slowing down and cars were sliding off the highway at the rate one every five or 10 minutes.

Both WeatherUnderground and Weather.com are predicting snow for the Batavia area today.

It seems that some level of snow showers -- with some possibility of lake effect snow -- are likely all day. Accumulations could be around 2 to 3 inches.

Temperatures will hover in the high teens with light winds.

The lake effect snow warning has been lifted, but it is going to be cold today with ongoing light snow showers.

There could be as much as an inch accumulation.

Temperatures will remain in the 10- to 11-degree range.

Winds will be calm, less than 10 mph.

One forecast online suggests lake effect snow with an accumulation of 1 to 2 inches may return tonight.

Blowing and drifting snow continues to make travel treacherous throughout Genesee County, according to a report on the scanner.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service says a lake effect storm warning remains in effect until 6 p.m.

Snow fall could be heavy at times, with from 3 to 7 inches of additional accumulation today.

Winds will blow from the northwest at 15 to 30 mph.  The wind chill will be zero to 10 below.

UPDATE 5:50 p.m.: Lake effect snow warning has been extended until midnight.  The areas of heaviest snow fall continue to be just south of Lake Ontario.

UDATE 10:10 p.m.: The lake effect snow warning has been extended to 4 a.m. The National Weather Services says, "expect dangerous driving conditions."

Lake Effect snow coming off of Lake Ontario is going to start hitting Northern Genesee County shortly, according to the National Weather Service out of Buffalo.

Wind gusts of up to 25 mph combined with a snowfall rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour could create whiteout conditions and caution when traveling is advised.

South of the lake effect region, expect scattered snow showers with about an inches accumulation.

UPDATE 9:24 p.m.: The winter storm advisory for Batavia is canceled. We now have a lake effect storm warning in place until 6 p.m. tomorrow. Expect accumulations of 3 to 6 inches tonight. Travel conditions could be difficult.

Travel conditions tomorrow could deteriorate as snow accumulates and winds grow strong, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

The service issued a weather advisory for Sunday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Areas north of the Thruway can expect 4-8 inches of snow, while areas to the south should see only about 2-4 inches.

As winds increase throughout the day, visibility could decrease.

Weather Underground tells us there is a 40 to 60 percent chance of snow the rest of the day. Weather.com puts the odds at 10 percent in its forecast.

The one thing they both agree on: It's going to be cold. Expect temperatures in the low to mid teens. Wind will come from the west at 5 to 8 mph.

A heavy band of lake effect snow is hanging around northern Erie and Genesee Counties longer than expected, according to the National Weather Service, which has upgraded its storm watch from an advisory to a warning.

The Buffalo NWS office says the storm is moving slow and will dump more snow on the region -- up to seven inches, especially from Buffalo and Oakfield southward.

The lake effect snow will shift to the south some time after 7 p.m. when an Arctic front moves through the region.  That front will bring gusts up to 40 mph and rapidly falling temperatures.

The warning is effect until 9 p.m.

Reader Janice Stenman sends the following report:

We just returned from Eastern Hills Mall via Thruway. Traffic moved at between 15-20 MPH. It took us over an hour to drive between Depew and the Pembrooke exit.

From the Thruway Cam pic I just grabbed (right), the Pembroke section of Thruway looks uncongested, though visibility looks low.

Be careful out there.