weather

Batavia Police are responding to a report that part of the roof of Pontillo's has blown off and is currently traveling eastbound on Main Street.

UPDATE: A little while ago, a Batavia Police officer reported the roof portion was recovered and returned to the Pontillo's property.

Numerous power outages have plagued Genesee County throughout the day, with the largest and longest lasting affecting more than 300 customers in the western area of Batavia (both city and town).

Power to those customers is not expected to be restored until after 3 p.m.

Five hundred customers in Alexander had power restored an hour or so ago. Many of the other power outages affect five customers or less.

National Grid provides an interactive map of power outages on its Web site. Snapshot of the map above taken about 1 p.m.

Strong winds and lake effect snow will combine to create "near blizzard-like conditions" tonight, according to the National Weather Service.

A winter storm watch is in effect from 7 p.m. through Thursday evening.

An arctic cold front will hit WNY later this afternoon, turning rain into snow. The back side of the storm will carry lake effect snow.

The National Weather Service warns the storm will "create very difficult driving conditions."

Heavy lake-effect snow is expected to hit Genesee County by Thursday morning.  Driving conditions could be especially treacherous in parts of Erie and Genesee counties tomorrow morning.

Roads were slick  this morning, but the ice will be melting as the sleet turns to rain.

Temperatures are expected to reach the mid 40s.

The chance of precipitation is near 100 percent.

Winds will continue in the 35 mph range, with gusts up to 60 mph by this evening.

Temperatures will drop by tonight with 1 to 3 inches of snow accumulation, and blowing snow, expected.

The current temperature is 35 degrees.

The Batavia area can expect more snow and sleet tonight, with accumulations of 1 to 2 inches.

There is also a wind advisory for Wednesday night, with winds reaching 40 mph and gusts up to 60 mph.

From the National Weather Service:

A high wind watch remains in effect from Wednesday evening through Thursday afternoon.

A very deep early winter storm system will track to the west and north of the area Wednesday and Thursday. Southeast winds of 15 to 25 mph will be found ahead of the storm on Wednesday. ... then stronger winds will set in Wednesday night. The winds will become southwesterly and will increase to 25 to 40 mph with gusts to 60 mph possible overnight. These strong winds will become more westerly late Wednesday night and will continue through the day Thursday.

Listening to county work crews chatter on the scanner: Snow is starting to accumulate on roadways, especially the southern part of the county, and bridges are starting to ice up.

Jade Wolff works with her father, Leigh Wolff, late this morning on her first snowman of the winter (maybe her first ever -- I forgot to ask) just before all the snow melts away.  The Wolff's were in the front yard of their south-side Batavia home.

Billie and I got back from California just in time for the first snow. 

I'm getting a late start this morning -- taking the red eye back last night really messed up my sleep schedule. 

WBTA reports there were some weather-related accidents this morning, including some roll overs, but no serious injuries. 

The snow is likely to melt off today with temperatures in the low 40s and into the 50s tomorrow. Still, be careful out there.

UPDATE: William Buckley did road condition updates for us live this morning. If you missed it, it will give you some idea of what things were like earlier.

UPDATE 8:20 AM:
All road segments mentioned below plowed and passable now, though E/W Saile is still somewhat slick as of about 7:15. Some lanes are not fully cleared yet, but there is a clear path of travel in both directions.

Road Conditions as of 6:00 AM:
Main St. From Tops (5/63 Split) to Aldi (5/33 Split): Passable, was able to maintain speed limit.

63 from Main to Oakfield: "Snowball's Chance," slick, could not safely exceed 35 in 55 zone, TBFD called out to 8100 block (My-T Acres area) for vehicle off the road into the South/West tree line.

Hawley (GCC): "Snowball's Chance," in some spots even 25 did not seem to be a safe speed, unplowed as of 4:50. Eastbound appears to have been cleared now.

33 from Main to Batavia Stafford Townline/Seven Springs: Passable, cautiously.

E & W Saile Dr. (Airport) : Again, "Snowball's Chance," highly variable condition, slick, unplowed as of 5:00.

98 from W Saile to Thruway Entrance: Could not safely exceed 40.

Edit Notes:
8:20 AM - Added updated conditions, fixed Hawley direction described earlier, I lost my sense of direction.

We're hearing reports again this morning of frosted, slick roads, especially, possibly, in the east part of the county.

There was some overnight precipitation with freezing temperatures (some might call it snow, but what we saw wasn't exactly light and fluffy).

The current temperature in Batavia is 29 degrees and expected to remain at or near freezing until 9 or 10 a.m. The temperature should climb into the 40s by early afternoon, with plenty of sun.

Within the past few minutes, two minor accidents in the Le Roy and Bergen area have been reported. In both cases, it sounds like cars slid off the roads.

A fire chief said, "We have snow covered roads. It's slippery. You can't see the double yellow line. You (dispatch) might want to call DOT."

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It's no fun to trick or treat in the rain, but ghouls, goblins as well as princesses and pirates shouldn't worry too much.

The forecast for this evening ranges from 0 percent to 10 percent chance of precipitation.

But it is going to be a little cold. The temperature is expected to drop into the high 40s.

The good news is, the wind will have died down by then.

Wind, did you say? Yes, there's a wind advisory in place from 4 to 6 p.m., with gusts of up to 40 mph expected.

Happy Halloween. Be safe.

New York is appealing last month's decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to deny disaster assistance to five counties, including Genesee.

The state's formal appeal asks President Obama to overturn FEMA's denial and provide aid to Genesee, Columbia, Delaware, Rensselaer and Sullivan counties for damages suffered from storms that occurred from July 25 through Aug.16.
 
Damage, debris and response costs in the five counties exceed $7 million, according to a press release from Tim Yaeger, coordinator of Genesee County Emergency Services.

“The...counties are reeling from this summer’s flooding and storms, which have caused severe damage and hardship,” Gov. Paterson said. “The repetitive nature of these events has strained local governments’ ability to implement the recovery process and placed a severe fiscal burden upon the state and its local communities.” 

FEMA maintains that Genesee and the four other counties sustained infrastructure damage that was "not of the severity and magnitude" to warrant a separate disaster declaration (from a storm system that hit Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chenago, Cortland and Erie counties).

But the state argues that New York had the wettest summer in 138 years and the third wettest in recorded history. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration reported rainfall greater than 200 percent above normal for July.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture calculated soil-moisture content in excess of 500 percent above normal range in the five counties named in the appeal. This super-saturation of the soil resulted in "immediate significant rises in creeks and streams for even minor rainfall amounts."

“A failure to provide this desperately needed support to some of our most impoverished counties will leave them vulnerable to increased damage from even moderate future flooding events," Patterson said.

Corfu's damage assessment was found to be $246 per capita for Genesee County. That's well in excess of the per-capita threshold for aid established by federal law and cited in FEMA’s own preliminary damage assessment.

Damage and debris/response costs for all 10 counties affected by the summer storms is estimated at more than $60 million.

We woke up to a little snow this morning.  Expect temperatures below 40 degrees until early afternoon, and then read starting around 3 p.m.  We could have more snow tomorrow night.

Blame Canada.  It's going to be cold tonight -- low 30s -- with a "hard frost" according to the National Weather Service.

UNSEASONABLY COLD CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD ACROSS NEW YORK STATE TONIGHT. PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES... LIGHT WINDS... AND PLENTY OF COLD DRY AIR ASSOCIATED WITH THE HIGH WILL BRING A HARD FREEZE TO MOST OF WESTERN AND UPSTATE NEW YORK. LOW TEMPERATURES NEAR LAKE ERIE AND ONTARIO WILL NOT GET QUITE AS COLD... BUT STILL WILL DROP TO NEAR FREEZING... RESULTING IN THE FIRST FROST OF THE SEASON FOR MANY.

Farmers are advised to harvest tender crops and gardeners should bring potted plants in doors.

The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory for most of Western NY tonight and tomorrow from 1 AM to 4 PM. According to their forecasts, we can expect 25-35 MPH winds and gusts exceeding 50 MPH. These winds have the possibility of causing damage; however, the NWS has not made any special statement to this effect beyond their standard explanation. This applies to Genesee, Chautauqua, Erie, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming Counties. For the full NWS release click on "Read More" below.

UPDATE, 10:40AM: Winds are expected to change to coming mainly from the West in the next few hours. Sustained winds are expected to drop by about 5 MPH but gusts are not expected to change. Also addded a new NWS Special Weather Statement in full below. The SWS contains current information regarding recorded wind gusts in the Buffalo area, as well as Lake Erie levels. 14.4 foot waves have been recorded at a buoy near Port Colborne, ON, Canada (about 15 Mi. west of the border along the north shore of Lake Erie).

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
1001 PM EDT TUE OCT 6 2009

...STRONG WINDS LATE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY ACROSS WESTERN NEW
YORK...

.A STRONG AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER NORTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN WILL TRACK ACROSS THE CENTRAL GREAT LAKES OVERNIGHT...THEN PASS JUST NORTH OF LAKE ONTARIO WEDNESDAY MORNING BEFORE REACHING NEW ENGLAND WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. A STRONG COLD FRONT TRAILING THIS LOW PRESSURE WILL CROSS WESTERN NEW YORK LATE TONIGHT. THE TRACK OF THIS STRONG LOW JUST TO THE NORTH OF THE AREA IS FAVORABLE FOR STRONG WINDS ACROSS WESTERN NEW YORK.

WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE SOUTHWEST AND QUICKLY INCREASE OVERNIGHT BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED NEAR LAKE ERIE EXTENDING NORTHEAST FROM THE LAKE ACROSS THE NIAGARA FRONTIER TO NEAR ROCHESTER. THE STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF WEDNESDAY BEFORE DIMINISHING WEDNESDAY EVENING.

NYZ001>003-010>012-019-085-071030-
/O.CON.KBUF.WI.Y.0009.091007T0500Z-091007T2000Z/
NIAGARA-ORLEANS-MONROE-NORTHERN ERIE-GENESEE-WYOMING-CHAUTAUQUA-SOUTHERN ERIE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...NIAGARA FALLS...MEDINA...ROCHESTER...BUFFALO...BATAVIA...WARSAW...
JAMESTOWN...ORCHARD PARK...SPRINGVILLE
1001 PM EDT TUE OCT 6 2009

...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 4 PM EDT WEDNESDAY...

A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 4 PM EDT WEDNESDAY.

WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE SOUTHWEST AND RAPIDLY INCREASE OVERNIGHT. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT THROUGH MUCH OF WEDNESDAY. WINDS WILL BEGIN TO SUBSIDE WEDNESDAY EVENING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WIND ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS ARE FORECAST TO BE 31 TO 39 MPH OR GUSTS WILL RANGE BETWEEN 46 AND 57 MPH. WINDS OF THESE MAGNITUDES MAY CAUSE MINOR PROPERTY DAMAGE WITHOUT EXTRA PRECAUTIONS. MOTORISTS IN HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES SHOULD USE CAUTION UNTIL THE WINDS SUBSIDE. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER RADIO AND TV STATIONS FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES.

Source

Special Weather Statement
Issued by The National Weather Service
Buffalo, NY
9:40 am EDT, Wed., Oct. 7, 2009

... STRONG WINDS CONTINUE TO BUFFET THE AREA...

* STRONG WESTERLY WINDS IN THE WAKE OF A COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE ARE THROUGH MOST OF THE DAY. WINDS ACROSS THE REGION HAVE GUSTED OVER 50 MPH AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS. AT THE BUFFALO AIRPORT, WINDS GUSTED TO 51 MPH. ALONG THE LAKE ERIE SHORELINE AND OUT IN THE LAKE ITSELF, CONDITIONS ARE WORSE. SOME OF THE WIND REPORTS INCLUDE:

BUFFALO COAST GUARD STATION 60 MPH DUNKIRK LIGHT HOUSE 62 MPH PORT COLBORNE DATA BUOY 63 MPH 14.4 FT WAVES BUFFALO AIRPORT 51 MPH NIAGARA FALLS AIRPORT 45 MPH OLCOTT PIER 45 MPH

THE LAKE ERIE WATER LEVEL RECEDED FROM A HIGH POINT OF 7.3 FT AT 8:24AM TO 6.7 FT. AT 9:30AM.

A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE REGION THROUGH 4PM AND A LAKESHORE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR LAKE ERIE UNTIL NOON.

Source - Weather.com, no longer listed as of 10:40 AM

The National Weather Service has issued a Special Weather Statement and a Flood Warning covering Genesee County. There is a strong thunderstorm expected to pass just south of Buffalo at 9:45 which has the potential to become severe. The flood warning is in effect until 1:30AM, and has been issued due to imminent or observed flooding of small creek and streams, underpasses and other low-lying areas. The Kensington Expressway in Buffalo has been partially closed due to flooding. Releases after the jump.

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
907 PM EDT MON SEP 28 2009

NYZ010>012-085-290200-
ERIE NY-GENESEE NY-WYOMING NY-
907 PM EDT MON SEP 28 2009

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL PASS JUST SOUTH OF BUFFALO THROUGH 945 PM...

RADAR SHOWED A THUNDERSTORM CONTAINING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH APPROACHING SOUTH OF BUFFALO. EXPECT THIS STORM TO PASS JUST SOUTH OF BUFFALO NEAR LACKAWANNA THROUGH 945 PM. IN ADDITION...PERIODIC HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS EVENING. A FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT.

THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE AND PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND/OR DAMAGING WINDS.



FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
743 PM EDT MON SEP 28 2009

NYC009-013-029-037-121-290530-
/O.NEW.KBUF.FA.W.0003.090928T2343Z-090929T0530Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
743 PM EDT MON SEP 28 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BUFFALO HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD WARNING FOR URBAN AREAS AND SMALL STREAMS IN...
  CATTARAUGUS COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK...CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK...THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...DUNKIRK...FREDONIA...
  ERIE COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK...THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...AMHERST...WILLIAMSVILLE...WEST SENECA...TONAWANDA...LANCASTER...LACKAWANNA...KENMORE...HAMBURG...EAST AURORA...DEPEW...CHEEKTOWAGA...BUFFALO...
  GENESEE COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK...THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF BATAVIA...
  WYOMING COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK...

* UNTIL 130 AM EDT

* AS OF 735 PM BUFFALO DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A BAND OF HEAVY LAKE EFFECT RAIN ACROSS THE AREA. THE HEAVIEST HAS BEEN ACROSS NORTHERN ERIE AND WESTERN GENESEE COUNTIES WHERE OVER 2 INCHES HAS FALLEN. IT HAS ALREADY CAUSED ROAD CLOSURES IN BUFFALO INCLUDING PART OF THE KENSINGTON EXPRESSWAY. THE BAND WILL SHIFT A LITTLE SOUTHWARD DURING THE LATE EVENING HOURS.

A FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR HAS BEEN REPORTED. STREAM RISES WILL BE SLOW AND FLASH FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED. HOWEVER...ALL INTERESTED PARTIES SHOULD TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS IMMEDIATELY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS...STREAMS AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLOODING.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.