New forecast for Thanksgiving journey in Central NY requires heavier snow; warning issued

Syracuse, N.Y. — The forecast for the Thanksgiving weekend for Central New York simply retains getting worse for vacationers.

The National Weather Service has now upgraded the area to a lake impact snow warning, probably the most extreme alert, from 1 a.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday.

“Heavy lake effect snow is expected, (with) total snow accumulations between 7 and 15 inches,” the warning said. “Winds gusting as high as 40 mph will produce blowing and drifting snow.”

The newest warning applies to Madison, Oneida and Onondaga counties. Similar warnings had already been posted for greater than a dozen counties in Western New York and the North Country.

One massive caveat: Lake impact snow falls in slim bands, and even a slight shift in wind course can imply the distinction between getting dusted or buried by snow. The official climate service forecast displays this, predicting between 2 and 9 inches in Syracuse, whereas the northern suburbs and southern Oswego County may get 12 to 18 inches.

On Thanksgiving Day, Central New York will see robust wind gusts and temperatures within the 30s, however little snow. As winds shift Thursday night time, the snow will transfer down from the North Country and into Central New York.

By dawn Friday, there’s prone to be an inch or two of snow on the bottom within the Syracuse space. The snow is anticipated to ramp up Friday morning and will fall closely a lot of the day. Snowfall charges may attain a blinding 1 to 2 inches per hour.

The snow is anticipated to proceed into Friday night time and taper off by Saturday morning.