BUFFALO, N.Y. — It's about a week late, but January weather has arrived. An arctic cold front crossed Western New York before sunrise this morning. With it came significantly colder air, gusty west-northwest winds and scattered lake effect snow showers.
Bands of snow are expected throughout Western New York for the rest of Wednesday afternoon. This could impact the evening commute in the city with briefly heavy snow and poor visibility. Those traveling in the Southern Tier should expect much more difficult travel as snow has accumulated several inches throughout the day and blowing snow has made for slick roads and near-zero visibility at times.
A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for southern Erie, Wyoming, Chautauqua, Allegany and Cattaraugus counties until 6 pm Wednesday. This is where bands of snow will be most persistent.
Total snow accumulations of 4"-8" are possible within the advisory area. Buffalo and areas north should expect a coating to 2" during that same time period. Wind gusts up to 35 MPH will continue to cause blowing and drifting snow, reducing visibility anywhere in Western New York.
Temperatures have been dropping through the day, starting in the upper 20s. Evening temperatures will be in the teens with wind chills in the single digits.
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