BUFFALO, N.Y. — Western New York's prolonged period of icy precipitation is coming to an end. Temperatures have risen just above freezing at most major reporting stations, allowing the rest of Friday night's precipitation to fall as a cold, soaking rain.
After midnight Friday, all Winter Weather Advisories will expire for Western New York. Advisories in northern Pennsylvania will expire at 1 a.m. Saturday.
Many places within the advisory region picked up some impressive ice accumulations, including Belfast in Allegany County, which picked up 0.25".
Forecast at the National Weather Service office reported 0.08" of ice at the Buffalo Airport and 0.06" of ice in Springville. Wellsville reported a total of 0.13".
From this point forward, temperatures should be above freezing throughout the region, allowing for all areas to change over to plain rain. Saturday morning will be wet, but the ice risk will have melted away in most places. A few scattered rain and snow showers are possible south of Buffalo Saturday morning.
Rainfall totals with this storm may reach 1 inch in some spots. That much rain combined with snow melt will make things very swampy for a couple of days. Localized flooding is a possibility, especially for parts of Erie County that picked up close to 2 feet of snow last week.
Winds will pick up a bit Friday night into Saturday as the storm pulls away to the north. Expect westerly winds on Saturday sustained at 10 to 20 mph with scattered gusts to 35 mph. Wind damage is not expected, but the conditions will make the day feel raw at best.
