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Upstate/Eastern New York-Into Winter!


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Kind of a random thought but I’m wondering if the term “January thaw” should be removed from our vocabulary in upstate NY. Used to be we would get a day or 2 near 60 in January and things would start to thaw out. Funny how the term was used like it was an atmospheric condition or something. Anyway, we might need to flip it entirely around to “January freeze”.  Sitting here at BUF with less than 10 inches on the season and only rarely dropping below freezing at night…I’m looking forward to that 3-5 day “January freeze” when it snows and temps stay below freezing. Then things go back to normal and we hover near 40 for rest of the winter. 
 

Ok, that’s a bit tongue in cheek and inspired by this perpetual early November weather, but it’s actually kinda true nowadays. I’ve said this before and probably sound like a broken record, but I think someone posted a stat that BUF’s average winter temp has risen 2-4 degrees since 1970. We were always riding the line here between deep/rarely interrupted winter (take a boat trip across Lake Ontario and enter the great white north) and winter scraps (see Harrisburg, PA). I fear that the temp increase has permanently placed us in the fighting for scraps zone. If the global temp was 11 deg F colder during the last ice age, a 2-4 degree winter warming here is probably enough to consider changing our forum name to something like “The New Mid-Atlantic”. 

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18 minutes ago, tim123 said:

Even icon is swinging all over the place. So close in as well. Only like 100 hours out

Dunno, I'm pretty used to seeing models flopping around a lot in the 3-5 day range as systems get sampled better, etc. Outside of 4, 5 days they're pretty much useless for any specifics.

I'd think in another day we'll have firmer consensus on the weekend cutter from the "A" team models.

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28 minutes ago, tim123 said:

Even icon is swinging all over the place. So close in as well. Only like 100 hours out

 

5 minutes ago, Syrmax said:

Dunno, I'm pretty used to seeing models flopping around a lot in the 3-5 day range as systems get sampled better, etc. Outside of 4, 5 days they're pretty much useless for any specifics.

I'd think in another day we'll have firmer consensus on the weekend cutter from the "A" team models.

 Superfast flow in the northern jet is causing the models to flop around... Along with lots of small short waves embedded in the flow.

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During the weekend a wavy frontal boundary/baroclinic zone will
slowly sag southeastward and across our region...with one or more
waves of low pressure rippling northeastward along this boundary and
passing over and/or south of our area. The medium range guidance
continues to exhibit the usual timing and track differences this far
out...but in general this should result in rain and above normal
temperatures on Saturday transitioning to snow between Saturday
night and Sunday...along with temperatures dropping off to near to
slightly below average levels by Sunday.

Following the passage of this system...a general west-northwesterly
to westerly flow of much colder air (850 mb temps dropping to as low
as -16C to -18C Sunday night into early Monday...the coldest airmass
we`ve seen so far this winter) will set up for the balance of this
period. This will bring the potential for lake effect snow to areas
southeast and east of the lakes...along with below average
temperatures.
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1 hour ago, Buffalo Bumble said:

 BUF’s average winter temp has risen 2-4 degrees since 1970. We were always riding the line here between deep/rarely interrupted winter (take a boat trip across Lake Ontario and enter the great white north) and winter scraps (see Harrisburg, PA). I fear that the temp increase has permanently placed us in the fighting for scraps zone. If the global temp was 11 deg F colder during the last ice age, a 2-4 degree winter warming here is probably enough to consider changing our forum name to something like “The New Mid-Atlantic”. 

It's funny you mentioned that,  because as I was out for a walk with the Mrs. I was just  thinking about this. That our winter daytime averages were right around the freeze mark give or take a degree. Now you raise that a few here or there and we are out of the  snow business  all together.  If 37-41 is our new winter weather I want zero part of any of that. I would  love to move and chase the cold and snow to Northern Maine or something like that but realistically that won't happen. I can only hope something  shifts back to cold winters while I am still young enough to care for cold and snow.

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5 minutes ago, TugHillMatt said:

It's obviously just one run, but after whatever falls tonight, BUF, ROC, and SYR all get like ONE inch of snow through the end of next week. Just ugly.

Looks like we’re still on track for a run at 60 by end of next week though!  But not to worry, a cold front will plow through thereafter and plunge our temps down to the upper 30’s. 

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11 minutes ago, wolfie09 said:

Euro has it as well but I'd be okay with it if we get some of that cold lol Actually euro cold for majority of the week after that Saturday system moves through..Now we just need some moisture lol

sfct.conus (4).png

I don't know if people know this or not but some of our lakes biggest LES events come right after our warmest winter temps. We need a big cold front to come sweeping through after a massive cutter. It will finally throw this pattern change into fruition.

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10 minutes ago, BuffaloWeather said:

Just one example of many if you go look at LES archive

Dec 1-3 2010

The event began quickly and evolved from a departing major synoptic 
storm which drenched the region with 1 to 2 inches of rain early on 
Wed. Dec 1st. Temperatures started the day in the 50s but fell 
rapidly as the storm departed.

Yeah same thing happened a couple weeks later lol

After a respite of a few days, the lake effect machine revved up 
again following the passage of a storm which brought a cold rain to 
most of the area on the 12th. This event was very long lasting and 
features three "sub" events...although it never really ended until 
later Friday the 17th. Most of the accumulation occurred during 
these three "sub" event periods...a north to northwest "upslope" 
flow from late Monday (13th) through Tuesday morning (14th) which 
brought 6-10 inches from Monroe to Wayne County and over a foot to 
the Chautauqua Ridge...a rare narrow but intense band from Georgian 
Bay which worked slowly across the Niagara Frontier during afternoon 
of Tuesday 14th...dropping 4 to 7 inches...and a broader WNW flow 
off the east end of Lk Ontario on Wed Nt/Thurs morning 15-16t which 
nailed Oswego County with over a foot.
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