First Alert Weather: Mild for now, but lake effect and cold air return this week

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Monday’s mild air and rain will stick around into Tuesday, and part of Wednesday. We remain mild enough for plain old rain showers to develop again for the second half of Tuesday, after starting the day off mainly dry and cloudy.

Temperatures should reach the upper 40s and lower 50s on Tuesday. Showers develop and will stick around into Tuesday night and part of Wednesday. As the moisture begins to pull away on Wednesday, colder air will begin to slowly work in. This should keep most of the precipitation in and around the Rochester region as rain, but we may see some wet snow mixing in in the higher elevations south and east of Rochester. Some snow will likely accumulate in the Catskills, but not for us…yet. That will change on Thursday, as lake effect snow gets cranking.

Much like the last event, this will be off of Lake Erie, meaning the band will impact Genesee and Wyoming Counties, where Winter Storm Watches are currently posted for lake effect snow. Travel will be difficult once again south of Buffalo on the Thruway. With a gusty wind, some of that band of snow may stretch into parts of the Finger Lakes and Monroe County, but at this point, impacts should be fairly minor. We’ll monitor and let you know of any changes.

While the lake effect will be localized, the cold will be for everybody! Temperatures will top out in the 20s on Thursday and Friday, with a moderating trend into the weekend.