weather

Freezing rain and icy roads are being predicted for Genesee County by the National Weather Service.

The winter weather advisory goes into effect at 6 p.m.

While the weather service describes the amount of freezing rain as "spotty" and accumulation as only "trace," it does warn of slick roads and walkways.

There will be less snow today, and at midday even a little sun.

In the Pembroke area between now and 9 a.m., a narrow band of lake effect snow may drop an inch or two of snow.

There's about a 30-percent chance of snow after 3 p.m.

Winds will be about 15 mph, decreasing to under 10 mph overnight.

There's a chance of snow showers and flurries tonight and tomorrow.

The National Weather Service says some lake effect snow should hit Genesee County between now and 7 p.m.

The chance of snow this afternoon is about 80 percent.

There's some chance of snow tomorrow, and it should be partly cloudy on Thursday.

Photo: Kibbe Park mid-morning today.

We'll update this post periodically with anything we hear that seems related to the weather.

First, it's in Monroe County, but about 20 minutes ago Le Roy Fire and Bergen Fire responded to an accident on the 490. It was a non-injury rollover accident in the median. Fire units are clearing the scene.

Now, a property damage accident is reportedly blocking Route 33 at Dublin Road.

UPDATE 5:12 p.m.: A highway man on Bank Street Road reports, "It's a little wild out this way."

UPDATE 5:43 p.m.: It appears that the worst of it hit the Byron-Bergen area and that band of snow is now passing to the east. The radar map show no new bands hitting Genesee County in the next five or six hours. We'll see.

UPDATE 6 p.m.: A car has hit a utility pole on Asbury Road, Le Roy. No injuries, no wires down, but the pole is snapped. National Grid requested to the scene.

UPDATE 7:05 p.m.: Vehicle off the road on the 490 near mile marker 1.

UPDATE 7:32 p.m.: Tree down on Bethany Center Road, just south of Ellicott Street Road.

Between six to 12 inches of snow could fall on Genesee County over the next 30 hours, the National Weather Service reports.

But the Buffalo office has issued a lake effect snow warning that covers Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties.

Winds are expected to blow at 15 to 30 mph.

In places, visibility will be cut to a half mile at times.

Difficult driving conditions are expected with blowing and drifting snow.

This evening, highway workers have been heard on the radio discussing the possibility of roadways icing over quickly as the sun sets.

PHOTOS: Snowy conditions late this afternoon at Elmwood Cemetery, Batavia.

Lori Ann Santini sent in this picture of a mulberry tree and barn in Corfu today.

Below is a picture from Annmarie Dilaura of Kibbe Park.

One more picture each from Lori Ann and Annmarie after the jump.

The lake effect snow warning for Genesee County has been canceled two hours ahead of schedule.

The other day in looking at this picture of the Old Courthouse, I realized instead of trying to photograph the courthouse where it is just the building and not the trees -- an impossible task -- I need to work the trees appropriately into the picture. With all the snow on the branches, I thought today would be a good time to give that a try. After trying out nearly a dozen angles, this is what I settled on. About 10 minutes before snapping this picture, Mary Pat Hancock walked into the building, which gave me the idea of waiting until I could get a person walking up the stairs to add a little extra interest.

Below is a picture of a landscape you've seen before -- off Lewiston Road heading toward Oakfield. And there are more pictures after the jump.

Austin Park

Austin Park

Austin Park

A new shot of the same 100-year-old mulberry tree we featured a few days ago.

For a couple of days, the National Weather Service has been telling us that the lake effect snow warning covering most of Western New York would expire in the early evening today.

Now, they say, expect lake effect snow until at least 11 p.m.

The heaviest bands of lake effect snow should move north (meaning, possibly into Batavia) by early afternoon.

The southwestern parts of the county could see 1 to 2 inches of snowfall per hour, much less in the northern parts of the county.

The weather service also notes:

IN LAKE EFFECT SNOW THE WEATHER CAN VARY FROM LOCALLY HEAVY SNOW IN NARROW BANDS TO CLEAR SKIES JUST A FEW MILES AWAY. IF YOU WILL BE TRAVELING ACROSS THE REGION BE PREPARED FOR RAPID CHANGES IN ROAD AND VISIBILITY CONDITIONS.

IF YOU LOSE POWER AND PLAN ON RUNNING A GENERATOR...MAKE SURE THE GENERATOR IS LOCATED OUTDOORS AND PROPERLY VENTILATED. SPACE HEATERS SHOULD ALSO BE PROPERLY VENTILATED...AND ONLY USE THEM IF THEY ARE OPERATING PROPERLY.

This afternoon, just about anywhere I looked I could see a possible picture. I would have been out longer, but 4 p.m. rolled around and it was time to cover the Genesee County Legislature, which also explains why I'm just now getting the afternoon's photos posted.

Above, a tree on the grounds of the VA Center. Below, Vincent DiRisio helps his grandfather Harry Wortzman shovel his driveway. More pictures after the jump.

Centennial Park

Close up of the berries on the tree pictured above.

The clothesline in our own backyard.

The school districts in Le Roy and Oakfield-Alabama have announced that all after-school activities are canceled today due to weather conditions.

Lake effect snow is forecast for at least parts of Genesee County on Wednesday afternoon and into Thursday.

Where snowfall is the heaviest, there could be up to a foot of accumulation.

The National Weather Service said the current pattern indicates lake effect snow hitting southern Genesee County, and possibly Batavia, but a slight change in wind direction could push the storm further north with Batavia getting the heaviest accumulation. Then again, a wind direction change could push the storm further south.

There have been multiple reports of cars off the road in various parts of the county and a couple of accidents.

Currently, a car is off the road with unknown injuries at 1045 Perry Road. The caller did not see anybody get out of the car.

Bethany Fire is just clearing the scene of a two-car property damage accident on Route 63.

One car is reportedly stuck in the middle of the road on State Street Road near Saile Drive.

UPDATE 11:55 a.m.: The accident on Route 63 was a car into a tree and two people were injured. They're being transported to UMMC now.

UPDATE 12:44 p.m.: Car has hit a pole in the area of East Road and Dublin Road, unknown injuries. The vehicle is leaking fluids. Bethany Fire dispatched.

UPDATE 1:15 p.m.: Vehicle off the road, still occupied, in the area of 5669 Ellicott Street Road.

What may be some sort of willow tree on Pekin Road. UPDATE: It's a mulberry tree. Sharon Ladd (formerly Dean, this was the Dean residence), who grew up on the property called to thank us for the picture. She said it's a beautiful tree year around. It's easily more than 100 years old, she said. She said there have been problems with the town over the years because the snow plow drivers think it is dead, so they're not too careful about hitting it. That's why the one branch is held up by a iron pole.

Barn, Pekin Road.

Drake Street Road.

It's not much yet, and even seems to be slowing down since this picture was taken, but there was some snow in Downtown Batavia around 2:30 p.m.

Here's what it looked like at 3:30 p.m.

Blake Polito, Mitch Riter and Austin Wilkson can't wait for it to snow so they can ski.

But while they wait, they hit upon an ingenious idea -- use the ice dumped from the Zamboni at the Falleti Ice Arena to fashion a mini ski ramp and get some practice in now.

The trio was out behind the arena today practicing-- with permission, they said, from the arena management.

If it's snow they want, they reportedly won't have long to wait. The National Weather Service has issued a lake effect snow watch from Friday afternoon until Saturday evening for parts of Genesee County, including, potentially, Batavia.

Two more pictures after the jump:

For the next 30 minutes, parts of Genesee County are in the path of a thunderstorm that has prompted a warning from the National Weather Service.

The thunderstorm warning is effect until 7 p.m.

Winds may exceed 60 mph.

The line of storms were located 17 miles west of Medina and 13 miles west of Darien and moving east at 50 mph.

The weather service said that while these thunderstorms contain very little lightning, "do not wait for the sight of lightning or sound of thunder to seek shelter."

UPDATE: Warning cancelled. The Weather Service reports that doppler radar showed the storm weakening at 6:46 p.m.

Reader Amanda Bisig sent in this photo with this note:

My dad (John Bisig) sent me these photos that he took around 4:30 p.m. today, and asked me to send them in. They were taken on East Road in Batavia, where he was combining corn today. The photo you uploaded a few days ago of the Reinke irrigation system from the corner of Transit and Chapel roads in Byron is  also owned by the same farm (My-T-Acres) -- and we live in the farmhouse across the street from that one you photographed. Thought you might enjoy the photo!

Reader Amanda sent this in -- a picture of a rainbow over downtown Batavia at about 9:45 a.m.

To me, 36 degrees is not "extreme cold," but it's worth noting that we've received our first "extreme cold alert" of the season.

It's supposed to get down to 36 tonight with a wind chill factor -- the "feels like" temperature -- dropping to 30 degrees.

There will be a 16 mph wind from the northwest.

There is a 20 percent chance of precipitation.