weather

A dusting of April snow made for a beautiful drive this afternoon on Oatka Trail Road in Le Roy.

It's supposed to be spring, right? Well, it snowed today and it should be in the low 20s overnight.

That might seem unseasonably cold, but according to the Farmer's Almanac, the average last day of frost in Batavia -- with a 50 percent probability -- is May 4.

Plan your spring planting accordingly.

Above, snow dusting cars at Falleti Motors.

A woman with a snow-speckled blue umbrella on East Main Street.

The Tonawanda Creek along West Main Street.

A wind advisory has been issued for 5 p.m. through noon, Saturday.

Winds of 20 to 30 mph are expected with gusts up to 50 mph.

Winds of this magnitude could bring down tree limbs resulting in isolated power outages. Drivers of high-profile vehicles may find travel difficult.

There's a 90-percent chance of rain this afternoon with a quarter inch expected.

This is not how you want to spend a Sunday morning in Spring, clearing snow from your walks and driveways.

Whether using a blower or a shovel, Batavia residents this morning said the snow was heavy and hard to move.

Above, Ben Humes on South Main Street.

Justin Washington on Ellicott Avenue clearing snow from his car.

Jeff Emminizer, on South Main Street, enjoys a cigar while shoveling his drive. Emminizer, who owns a home-based business repairing dings and dents on cars, said he also had the BBQ going, smoking some beef. He said he grills or smokes every Sunday, regardless of the weather.

Jared Chaddock on Roosevelt Avenue with his 1964 Wheel Horse tractor. 

Fred Lord on Kibbe Avenue.

Brandan, 9, and Alissa, 4, were sledding in Kibbe Park with their father Mark Burgess.

A city plow truck on Chestnut.

A reader sent in this picture of a car off the road on North Byron Road, Elba. It looks like we got about six inches of snow overnight.

UPDATE: Jeff Allen sent in the picture of Maddie and Goliath a little taken aback by all the heavy, wet stuff in their yard. Below that, a picture from Greg Rada of his father's driveway this morning.

Pretty much right on cue, it started to snow in Batavia this evening. Heavy, water-sodden flakes.

Temperatures are below freezing. The roadways are slick. Since the snow started, there've been four motor-vehicle accidents reported in the county.

Icy road conditions are expected to last through the morning.

The forecast for tonight: heavy snow.

There's been no warning or watch issued by the National Weather Service, but some forecasters are calling for up to 10 inches of snow in the region overnight.

The Buffalo office of NWS is saying the impact of the approaching storm is uncertain. We could have minor slushy conditions, or we could get a lot of snow. Much depends on how much the temperature drops.

The weather front will start to reach us this afternoon beginning with rain. By 8 p.m., the chance of precipitation is 100 percent, according to the weather service. Heavy snow is also possible from 9 p.m. until midnight.

If you think that's bad ... there is a blizzard in the forecast this week for the upper Midwest.

UPDATE 2:49 p.m.: The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory, in effect from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.. Storm totals predicted up to five inches. The snow could become freezing drizzles in the morning, leading to ice on untreated roads.

Batavia got hit by a short but heavy snowstorm about midday that left about a quarter inch of snow on the ground.

View on Jackson Street.

Perhaps, this is the last winter storm.

From the National Weather Service:

Areas of wet snow this evening have at least partially melted on road surfaces...and for those roadways that remain untreated...This will lead to some black ice as temperatures settle below freezing. At higher elevations...untreated roads will be snow or slush covered. This will especially be the case for the higher terrain south of Buffalo where several inches of snow has fallen since 4 p.m. Motorists should allow extra time to reach their destinations and pedestrians should use extra caution if walking over untreated pavement.

The Sheriff's Office is working a property damage accident that is actually two accidents in one location, involving a pole with power lines. I don't have the location. A tow truck is delayed getting there because it's pulling a car out of a ditch in the Town of Batavia. There was also a property damage accident in the city (hit-and-run).

It almost felt like a spring day today, with a high 40, but the cold and snow isn't necessarily over for March.

Still, the weather was good enough to entice Ray Williams and Joe Watts to Williams Park.

"We wanted to the first to hoop at Williams," Watts said. "We've been playing here since we were little."

It's NCAA Tournament time, March Madness, and neither Williams nor Watts are wedded to any teams as potential champions, but Williams went with Syracuse and Watts picked Louisville to take the national title.

For two consecutive winters, Genesee County used very little salt on roadways to help keep motorists safe, but what was saved disappeared quickly this winter, County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens told the Public Service Committee on Monday.

Because of the mild winters, Hens started the year with salt in salt barns that was two years old and an unspent salt budget from last year. By Jan. 1, it was all gone and spent.

"We burned through both the pile and the money in November and December," Hens said. "So coming into January 1, I was already anxious to buy more. We had our new budget and filled the barns up with salt again. We burned through all the money we had budgeted for salt this year in about a month and a half."

So far, Hens said, the highway department is about $25,000 in the red for road salt in 2014.

"I've still got, theoretically, a few more storms this spring, storms or ice or whatever we end up getting, and I've got to figure on next November, December, too, and anything outside of it," Hens said.

To ensure an adequate salt supply, Hens is shifting money from the summer and fall road maintenance budget.

That probably means there are some potholes that won't get fixed.

"As everybody knows from driving around, pothole season is just starting," Hens said. "As bad as the winter's been, the temperature fluctuations, the extreme temperature fluctuations, where it's 20 below to 50 in two days, that freeze, thaw cycle just tears the pavement apart.

"We've had three or four of those huge swings this winter," Hens added, "and the pavement's starting to show it. As that frost comes out the ground, it's only going to get worse."

Hens also shared the observation that during our heavy snowstorm a week ago, there were few drivers on the road.

That made road maintenance a lot easier.

People stayed home, Hens figures, because the memory of January's blizzard was still on their minds.

"That was a bad storm," Hens said. "That was probably the worst that I'd seen since the Blizzard of '77. That storm caught a lot of people off guard just because we hadn't had a bad storm like that in a long, long time. That was very fresh in people's minds, and when they said the word blizzard this time -- the National Weather Service was pretty good about putting a blizzard warning out -- everybody was like, 'OK, last time we had a blizzard, it was nasty. I'm staying home.' "

A city worker clears away snow from the corner of Ellicott and Court.

The front of the former NY State Armory on Bank State Street.

The snow might stick around for awhile. The five-day forecast has a lot of cold in it.

Lauryn Brick, who lives on Slusser Road, East Pembroke, opened her garage door this morning and found this.

Jacob Yasses sent in the two pictures below.

The travel advisory for Genesee County was lifted at 2:40 a.m.

Main and Center was pretty eerie at 6:10 p.m. today with very little traffic passing through and no cars parked along the curbs.

The amount of snowfall has slowed, but the weather service is cautioning travelers about blowing and drifting snow and icy conditions on roadways.

The travel advisory for Genesee County remains in effect.

Snow-covered vines on the southside of the Center Street Smokehouse building.

On South Lyon, Ann and Bob Chilano shovel their drive.

City plow trucks on West Main Street.

John Chilano blowing his drive on Redfield Parkway. Yes, John and Bob are brothers. Proof that we live in a small city, getting pictures of Bob and John minutes apart is completely a coincidence and in no way planned.

Batavia Downs in the snow.

Main Street after dark.

A view down Ellicott from Court.

Here are weather photos submitted by readers today -- the first two from Beth Ely.

Sarah Calkind sent in this photo in praise of her bosses at Tompkins Insurance Agency. She says the two people in the parking lot are David Boyce and Timothy Spezzano, Tompkins executives, who brushed off the snow from staff members cars before they were released from work for the day.

From Paul Conklin, North Street, Le Roy

From Brandi Kaplun, Route 98

This photo from Christine Brunell of Lincoln Avenue. She writes, "Just thought I would share some photos from Lincoln Ave. My husband Chet Burnell loves to get out the snowblower and clear the sidewalks as well as several of our neighbors' driveways. I'm hoping this is the last time he will be out this season!"

Erika Sobczak's dog Dutch loves the snow.

By early afternoon, travel conditions on Lewiston Road, as well as other roads in the county, were pretty treacherous. Where there wasn't drifting snow (up to a foot deep), there was ice.

A postman got his delivery truck stuck and a pair of Mercy EMS medics stopped and helped dig him out and gave him a push. Assisting him were Andy Merkel and William Hockenberry.

The Weather Service warns that snowfall of an inch an hour along with strong winds will make travel conditions hazardous well into the evening.

Two cars lost control on Lewiston Road at about 1 p.m., with the white hatchback T-boning the silver minivan on the passenger side. Michael Lasik and his wife, Weiling, were southbound in the minivan. Weiling was the passanger and needed to be extricated from the vehicle by Town of Batavia firefighters. She was transported to an area hospital with unknown injuries. There were no other injuries. Laura Smith, of Alexander, was driving the white car. Trooper Holly Hanssel said the cause of the accident appears to be treacherous road conditions. No citations issued. (Initial Post)

A vehicle heads north on Lewiston Road, which by 1:30 p.m. had visibility of a half mile or less.

For a weekday afternoon, there was unusually low traffic volume at Main and Oak streets.

A person walking on East Main Street.

By 2 p.m., Empire Tractor was just wrapping up its open house. CEO Tim Call said more than 100 people turned out, with most of them arriving before 11 a.m. and leaving before the worst of the storm arrived.

Kim Hatch, a Batavia High School teacher, took her snow day to keep her driveway free of snow, trying to keep one step ahead of the plow trucks on Ellicott Street that kept pushing more snow onto the drive.

On Jackson Street

At about 2:30 p.m., Jackson hadn't been plowed in awhile and a couple of high drifts had built up along the east side of the street.

From Undersheriff William Sheron:

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office has issued a travel advisory for all of Genesee County effective at 10 a.m. today and continuing until further notice. While travel in the county is not banned at this time, unnecessary travel is discouraged. Heavy, blowing and drifting snow is making roads slippery and limiting visibility. With the forecast calling for the weather to continue to deteriorate as we move into the afternoon and evening, travel conditions will only get worse.

Here's four photos of what things looked like in Batavia around 9 a.m. Looking at the weather radar map, it looks like the worst of the storm won't hit us until 1:30 p.m. Currently, there is no travel advisory from the Sheriff's Office, but Chief Gordon Dibble said one may come later today. County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens has recommended residents stay home today.

If you have weather photos to share today, e-mail them to howard@thebatavian.com. In focus, properly exposed, no camera shake, please.

City plow and salt truck on Porter Avenue.

Centennial Park

On East Main Street

The National Weather Service said it: "Do not let the benign weather conditions this morning lull you into a false sense of security."

Here's the prediction:

Snow will rapidly overspread Western New York by 9 to 11 a.m. and become heavy. Snowfall rates may reach two inches per hour during the peak of the storm this afternoon. Temperatures will plummet through the 20s and into the teens with rapidly increasing northeast winds producing widespread blowing and drifting snow with blizzard conditions from midday through the evening.

County Superintendent Tim Hens had this to say:

With forecasted snow rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour, snow may accumulate up to 6 to 8 inches deep in roadways today before plows can return on a standard plow route. The morning driving conditions will entice people to head out, but conditions will deteriorate rapidly through the day and evening driving conditions will be treacherous. I would recommend staying put today. It will be a quick storm and road conditions should be back to normal tomorrow. I can't emphasize this enough.

The Weather Service concluded in its press release:

Travel will become extremely hazardous or even nearly impossible at times due to the combination of very heavy snow and blowing snow. Those who venture out this morning in the good weather may have a difficult time returning home later today as conditions worsen.

UPDATE 8:23 a.m.: Spoke with City Manager Jason Molino. He's also recommending people stay home if at all possible today. He also asked that people not park their cars on the streets so plow trucks can operate more freely. "When we're getting into several inches per hour, it's going to be a constant battle to keep the roads clear," Molino said. The priority will be on the major thoroughfares such as Main Street and Ellicott Street, Molino said.