Syracuse, N.Y. — The forecast picture is getting clearer for the lake effect snowstorm expected to hit Upstate New York just in time for Thanksgiving travel.
The National Weather Service has issued winter storm watches for 15 Upstate counties from Wednesday night into Saturday.
A foot or more of snow could fall Thursday and Friday near the eastern shores of Lake Erie, mostly southwest of Buffalo, and on the Tug Hill Plateau. Central New York and the Southern Tier are expected to get less snow, with most of it falling on Friday.
Wind gusts could reach 40 mph Thursday and Friday, blowing around the powdery snow and sharply reducing visibility on the roads. Temperatures will fall into the 20s, with wind chills in the teens.
The combination of strong winds and cold temperatures will create wind chills in the teens and low 20 across much of Upstate New York Thursday through the weekend. This map shows the projected wind chill at 1 p.m. Friday.National Weather Service
Wednesday could start out rainy, but a cold front sweeping through later in the day will turn rain into snow, especially at higher elevations. Winds from the southwest will drop heavy lake effect snow starting Wednesday night in Western New York and early Thursday on Tug Hill.
The wind is expected to shift to the west late Thursday, which will push the snow toward Central New York, the Mohawk Valley and Finger Lakes. Syracuse could see 3 to 8 inches of snow from late Thursday into Saturday.
“This set up is expected to be a long duration event lasting into Saturday with fluctuations in wind direction off of the lakes,” the weather service said.
Fifteen counties in Upstate New York are under winter storm watches for heavy snow and strong winds on Thanksgiving Day through early Saturday.National Weather Service
