First Alert Weather: Yellow Alert issued for blowing snow on Saturday

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A Yellow Alert is now up for Saturday for periods of lake effect snow, combined with gusty winds producing some blowing snow and changing conditions.

The Lake Ontario snow that has been producing heavy snow east of the lake will shift southward into the Rochester area this weekend, and to some extent into the Finger Lakes. A wind shift will allow the single band of lake snow to morph into multiple bands Friday night and into Saturday. These bands won’t be as intense as the single band, but will tend to spread the snow over more of our area.

Conditions  will be very changeable, but pockets of heavier snow under the bands, and much quieter weather outside of them. Temperatures will be in the 20s, so snow will be accumulating, and any untreated and lesser traveled roads will be snow covered and may be slick.

Most of the area will see a general two to four inches of accumulation, lower amounts south of the Thruway, higher amounts north.

The more scattered snow will consolidate once again into a single band focusing in on the Lake Ontario shoreline and areas north of Rochester into Wayne County Saturday night and into at least the first part of Sunday.  This may produce some locally heavy snow near the lakeshore. There are some indications that this may hover into Sunday morning, then slowly begin to drop south again during the day on Sunday. Roads may remain slick in some parts of the area straight through the weekend.