Central New York residents face a frigid start Monday with temperatures near zero degrees this morning, though conditions will moderate slightly before lake effect snow returns by midweek.
A more significant snow event is possible on Friday into Saturday.
A cold weather advisory remains in effect until 10 a.m. Monday for parts of Central New York as overnight temperatures plummeted near zero under mostly clear skies. High pressure building into the region will allow temperatures to recover into the low to mid-20s this afternoon with partly sunny skies and dry conditions expected throughout the day.
Sunday’s high temperature in Syracuse was 13 degrees, making it the ninth day in a row that temperatures failed to reach 18 degrees. That’s the longest streak of high temperatures of 17 degrees or less since a 10-day streak in 1979.
The streak should end on Monday, with a high temperature of 24 degrees expected.
The brief respite from winter weather will be short-lived. As high pressure shifts eastward on Tuesday, westerly winds will develop, bringing lake effect snow showers back to north Central New York.
National Weather Service
A cold front arriving Wednesday morning will shift winds to the northwest, allowing snow showers to advance into Central New York. Lake effect snow is expected to continue through Thursday night, with light accumulations mainly across north Central New York.
A more significant weather system approaches Friday into Saturday, bringing the potential for accumulating snowfall across the region. This clipper system will be accompanied by another blast of arctic air, with temperatures at higher atmospheric levels dropping to minus 10 to minus 15 degrees.
These extremely cold temperatures will keep snow ratios high, potentially increasing accumulation amounts.
Weekend temperatures are forecast to drop near zero degrees again, with the possibility of additional cold weather advisories.
The arctic cold is expected to last only a couple of days, with forecast models showing a warming trend attempting to build into early next week.