weather

A winter storm watch has been issued for our region starting tonight and extending through the day Friday. More than six inches of snow are expected to fall during the day Friday. The National Weather Service expects the storm to arrive tonight, although the snow should not become significant until mid-morning tomorrow. We could see some heavy snowfall through the late morning into the afternoon, "especially for areas south of a line from Buffalo to Batavia." That should taper off by the early evening.

Between three and five inches of heavy wet snow has so far fallen on Genesee County and environs, WBTA's Wayne Fuller tells us. It's ugly out there. Driving is slippery, so be careful. We're also still due for a continued onslaiught of snow and sleet and freezing rain until about noon today. Precipitation should end in a freezing drizzle and some icing is possible. Be wary all day on the roads. Fortunately, we look to be in the clear for tomorrow.

Expect some snow showers to begin some time around 7 o'clock this evening. WBTA's Dan Fischer warns us of a National Weather Service advisory for tonight that should last until about noon tomorrow. What will start out as light snow in the Southern Tier and spread throughout the region will develop into a mix of snow and sleet in the morning hours. All told, expect between four to six inches of accumulation by tomorrow afternoon.

In other news, Indian tribes across the state are threatening legal action following Gov. David Paterson's move to start collecting taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian retailers. Barry Snyder, who heads up the Seneca Nation, said that he plans to "revisit every aspect of the nation's relationship to the state." Fischer thinks that might be a thinly veiled threat that the Seneca Nation will rethink its revenue sharing deal between the casinos and the state.

The National Weather Service has issued a weather advisory for Genesee County with chances of freezing mist and a wind child factor of 5 degrees.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND WEATHER OBSERVATIONS AT NIAGARA FALLS AIRPORT INDICATE THIS FREEZING MIST TO BE SPREADING TO THE SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE NIAGARA FRONTIER. THIS COULD RESULT IN ICY SPOTS ON AREA ROADS, ESPECIALLY UNTREATED OVERPASSES AND THE LESS TRAVELED ROADS. MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO BE EXTRA CAREFUL OF THESE ICY CONDITIONS AND PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE DISTANCE BETWEEN VEHICLES, AND SLOW DOWN IN HEAVIER TRAFFIC. SIDEWALKS AND PARKING LOTS MAY ALSO BECOME SLICK AND SLIPPERY, SO BE CAREFUL WALKING EARLY THIS MORNING. THE ICY CONDITIONS SHOULD DIMINISH BY MID MORNING.

Repair crews should be on scene this morning at the site of a water main break on West Avenue near Woodrow Road, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. Road conditions could be tricky in that area, as any ground water is likely to freeze pretty quickly. Fortunately, salt dispensers should also be on scene to keep those city streets from turning into ice rinks.

In other news, Batavia's City Council will meet tonight at 7 o'clock at City Hall. On the agenda: Looking at alternate means of funding garbage collection.

"Numerous" vehicles ran off the road early this morning on a very slippery Route 20 that got so hazardous it had to be closed down for about a ten mile stretch between Alexander and Pavilion, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. Many of the vehicles that slid off the highway were still being pulled back up onto the road not even an hour ago. Salt trucks were finally starting to make some progress in the seven o'clock hour. About two to three inches of slippery snow fell across the area overnight.

A deer hunter was shot and killed by a member of his own party in Cattaraugus County. Derrick Lockwood, 23, of the town of Humphrey died Sunday morning following the incident, authorities there said. A police investigation into the death is ongoing.

I looked out my window a few minutes ago and was surprised to see that snow covered the cars in the parking lot. This morning's weather forecast hinted to snow mixed with rain, but not enough to accumulate. The winds carrying that cold air over the warm lakes should have been the first clue that we would see more than a dusting. I don't think I'll ever get over the thrill of the first snow. It seems to waken some primative need to stock the larder and bring out the heavier comforters and quilts for the bed. I wonder if others have this same urge. So today was a day to make apple butter; Harvard beets; roasted yam with roasted apples and corn relish. All staples that will hold over the winter. The apple butter is spiked with a good shot of maple syrup. The beets rest in a thick sweet sauce. The corn relish offers a blend of sweet and sour that is delicious on crackers for a snack or used as the base for sweet and sour chicken over rice and other recipes. The combination of roasted yams and roasted apples laced with brown sugar, butter, and apple pie spice freezes well. It makes a great side dish or a super stuffing for acorn squash. This is a dish that should be made when no one else is about. I find that friends like to spoon it on crackers and eat it as a snack. I put the light comforters away today. The heavier quilts now rest on the bed. Most likely, for the next few nights, I'll just kick them off because it will be too hot. But, it is nice to know they are there when needed.

It's that time of year, folks. Time to switch on the heat in the car for the morning commute. Time to dust off the coats and scarves. As chilly as it may have been in Genesee and Monroe counties this morning, it was much more so down in Wyoming, Cattaraugus and Allegany. Those three counties were under a freeze warning issued by the National Weather Service out of Buffalo this morning, according to WBTA's Wayne Fuller. That could be dire news for some vegetable growers. We'll have to wait and see.

In contrast to the cautious words of calm issued by an Oxford-educated economist who stopped by Batavia earlier this week to tell folks that it just "doesn't feel like an honest-to-goodness recession," unemployment numbers were reported as ever on the rise statewide. Genesee County is up more than a percentage point over this time last year: from 3.7 percent last August to 4.7 percent this year. Orleans County climbed from 5.1 to 7.1 percent. So, when does it start to feel like a recession? Is it when Orleans County can say that one in ten of its residents doesn't have a job?

In addition to the increase in unemployment, Fuller reports that job growth is either stagnant or shrinking. ...Maybe recession just isn't the right word, then. Can anyone else think up some words to describe what this feels like? Anyone?

Also (reported again on WBTA), the state looks to fare far worse than was initially suspected following the recent bankruptcies and bailouts on Wall Street. Gov. David Paterson envisaged a worst-case scenario of 30,000 jobs lost and a loss of $1 billion in revenue for the state. State officials now expect to lose 40,000 jobs and $3 billion in revenue over the next two years.

Oh. Almost forgot to mention... the price for a bus or train ride on the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is going up a quarter.

WBTA's Dan Fischer reports that remnants of what was once Hurricane Ike lashed out winds of up to 60 miles per hour that cut through the area, knocking down trees and electrical lines and leaving nearly 600 people in Genesee County without power this morning. Elba Central School has closed this morning as a result of the storm. Most folks were expected to be back on the grid by 8:30am.

Another 1,800 folks were without power in Orleans County, plus another 500 in Wyoming County.

Most of the debris was cleared off the streets early this morning in Batavia.

Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle reports power outages for more than 45,000 people in and around the city, and many traffic lights were still out during the morning commute.

Heading west, the Buffalo News tallied 14,000 folks who were still in the dark in the region as of 8:30am. That wasn't even the "bad news."

The bad news, for those still without power this morning, was that National Grid, on its Web site, cautioned that full power might not be restored until late Tuesday night.

A severe thunderstorm packing quite a punch and spewing quarter size hail is moving through the area right now, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo. Moving at a clip of about 22 mph, the storm was roaring through Albion at around 4:15pm and is expected to hit Batavia by 4:40pm. It should be through pretty quickly.

Reports have come in about some wires down on Junction Road between South Lake and Perry roads in the Pavilion district. Fire crews are on the scene. But if you've got to head that way, you may want to think detour.