winter

It was a wretched commute into Batavia from Rochester this morning. Roads were packed and ragged with snow. It's slow going out there, so be careful.

Fortunately, the winter storm warning is set to expire by noon today, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. Until then, however, expect another few inches of snow to fall, and watch out for whiteout conditions as the winds should be kicking up around 30 mph.

More snow will be falling across the region overnight tonight and into tomorrow afternoon. Fortunately, it won't be anything we can't handle. Here's the winter weather advisory being issued by the National Weather Service and in effect from 10:00pm tonight through noon tomorrow:

Snow amounts of 2 to 5 inches are expected overnight with the lowest amounts near Lake Ontario and the highest amounts generally south of Route 20.

On Wednesday another couple of inches are expected through midday before the snow tapers off.

A winter weather advisory is normally issued for a variety of winter weather conditions such as light snow, blowing snow, sleet, freezing rain and wind chilld. While the weather will be significant, the word advisory implies that severe winter weather is not anticipated.

In other words, get out your shovels, but there's no need to fire up the generator.

Here's how things look on the radar right now. There are a few patchy areas of snow south and east of us. But what will really bring the accumulation is that blotch of blue off to the west, creeping over Detroit.

This video was posted to YouTube on December 23, obviously before the rains. It was shot at PolarWave Snowtubing on Harloff Road in Batavia. I must admit, I had not yet heard of this place. It sounds like great fun. Have you been? Tell us about your time there.

Note: PolarWave is temporarily closed due to the warm temperatures and rains. You can check back at their Web site to find out when they open again, or to make reservations for a later date.

Earlier today, we received a news tip that an elderly woman in Oakfield had been "found in the snow" and subsequently taken to the hospital for treatment. Apparently a news station in Buffalo reported the incident without releasing the name of the woman nor relating what exactly had happened... Odd.

Well, we contacted the Genesee County sheriff's deputies to find out what really happened. Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble got back to us. He had this to say:

"I found nothing regarding an elderly woman found in a snow bank in our county yesterday.  What I did find was a rumor floating around about an elderly woman who was found in a snow bank in some other county and supposedly she was a Genesee Co. resident.  I am unable to backtrack that rumor but your caller may have heard a news report regarding this and picked up on the Genesee Co. part thinking it occurred in our county."

There you go. Just another rumor that made the nightly news.

We received this photo via a news submission this morning. No name was given, but the following caption was included: "Parts delivery @ Empire Tractor," and the photo was taken during Friday's big storm. Does anyone know the story behind this? How did this truck get in this situation?

The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued a winter weather advisory beginning at 10 o'clock tonight and stretching overnight to about 9 o'clock Wednesday morning. We should expect to see "mixed precipitation" that should start out as freezing rain but soon turn to rain only.

From the National Weather Service:

Light snow will overspread the region tonight, then change over to a mix of freezing rain and sleet for a few hours overnight before transitioning to all rain by mid Wednesday morning. A general 1 to 3 inches of snow is expected, along with the potential for up to one to two tenths of an inch of ice accumulation, with the greatest amounts of ice accumulation most likely across interior sections of the Finger Lakes, Genesee Valley and Western Southern Tier. Any such ice accumulation will result in hazardous driving conditions on any untreated roadways later tonight and early Wednesday.

A winger weather advisory for mixed precipitation is issued when some icing is forecast to develop, but accumulations are expected to be light. Any accumulation would make driving and walking difficult but not impossible on untreated roads and sidewalks. If you will be driving be especially careful on bridges and overpasses and allow extra time to reach your destination.

Here's a look at the current Thruway conditions... clear:

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office lifted the travel advisory for the county at 2 o'clock this afternoon. "There is still blowig and drifting snow, however all roads are passable and visibility has improved," according to a released statement. "Roads are snow packed and slippery and extreme caution is advised when driving."

If you have gone out today, how have you found the roads?

I was snowblowing my driveway this morning and my wife took a picture of me.  I was very chilled by the cold air and wind that was whipping through the area.

Then when I finished.  I went around town taking some pictures of different places:

Main Street

I drove down Bank St. here shown above, the street was really narrowed by the snow.

Pictured here is a guy snowblowing his driveway on North Street.

Along side a neighbors house was a tree that was weighed down by the heavy snow.  Total I believe we got approx 2 feet but difficult to tell with the blowing and drifting.  More to come.

Blowing snow made for a tricky commute this morning. What was normally a forty minute drive became a near two-hour trek. Some stretches along Route 33 between here and Bergen were blotted out by blowing snow. A few whiteouts were so severe that once I had come out the other side, I found myself half off the road or veering dangerously near the oncoming lane.

All in all, though, it was an uneventful ride. Sunshine has replaced snow clouds. Fewer people are on the roads during the eleven o'clock hour. Plus, the highway crews have done one heck of a job getting the roads clear—as best they can while competing against a relentless, unceasing wind. Route 33 was the worst of it. This video should give you an idea of how bad it could get out there. This was a few hundred yards from the junction with I-490. Further down the stretch, the blowing snow was much more dense and blinding, but the sound of the wind more than the picture should give you a good idea of its ferocity. (You may just be able to make out Ingrid Haebler playing Mozart's piano sonata in E-flat major in the background.)

Anyhow, it couldn't have been that bad out. Not if the woman driving the blue-grey Buick ahead of me on I-490 felt no qualms about tailgaiting the car in front of her. She even found time to clean her car some while she was driving. At least, that's what seemed to be the case as she randomly through bits of paper and trash out of her window as she was driving.

If we can rewind a bit, back in Rochester, I ought to admit that I was slightly intimidated at first. Pulling out of the side street was a feat in itself, grinding through the hash of snow and slush. Then, at the gas station, the attendant had to come out and de-ice one of the nozzles for a customer whose gas had frozen inside the pump handle! Further on, a few miles down I-490, near Gates, a vehicle had flipped up onto its side and was quite literally balanced that way on the edge of the westbound lanes. A coterie of police and emergency vehicles were lined up behind it, but I was too busy navigating through the wraith-like whips of snow to snap a photo. From there on out, the drive was mostly go slow and pray.

So I'm safe, as I hope all of you are, as well. For those who have yet to brave the elements, don't be too lulled by the azure, sunny skies. A fierce wind still blows.

Oh yeah. Let's all wish this guy luck digging out...

Well, folks. I'm ready and willing. We shall soon find out if I'm able. We've gathered the morning news for you. Now, there's nothing left to do but brave the commute. I'm leaving from Rochester and heading to Batavia in search of life on the streets, off the streets and in the shops. Check back later for full photo coverage of the journey. In the meantime, if you've got photos, video, stories to tell or whatever related to the storms of the past few days, please send them our way. We would love to share.

The Thruway between Rochester and the Pennsylvania border has been re-opened. Nevertheless, conditions are nasty. Expect snow, ice and blowing snow. If you do have to drive this stretch, please do so with caution.

Thanks to Brian Odachowski for getting us this photo over the weekend. This was taken on Main Street in Batavia during Friday's storm, which already seems like a pleasant memory compared with the frigid winds and whiteouts of this morning. You can't quite make it out in this scaled-down version, but this truck here is hauling snow pushers. Is that irony?

OK.

My friend plowed my driveway and I could get my car out. I decided to use it to pick up a friend as a bunch of us got together to watch football.

I got caught in three snowbanks.

Do not drive if you don't have to. It is not getting any better and it is really bad out there.

Being safe is the most important thing.

Back to the Panthers//Giants game.

UPDATE: The game ended and I had to drive home. The snowplow filled the end of my friend's driveway with snow, and I got stuck for a fourth time. It took about an hour and a half or more to get out and I'm just walking in my door at 3:15 a.m.

I was going to move to Arizona two years ago. What was I thinking?

Yeah, that's right... thunder snow. But more on that in a minute. It looks like this storm will hang on throughout the afternoon bringing more of the same, according to the National Weather Service out of Buffalo. Here's what the most recent weather statement has to say on the matter:

The steady moderate to heavy snow that was falling across the Niagara frontier will continue through the remainder of the afternoon... Expect snowfall rates to generally be around one inch per hour. There may be a brief period of heavier snow and thunder as a squall line develops and moves through the region between about 4:00 and 5:00pm. Snowfall for the remainder of the afternoon will be between 3 and 5 inches.

That's right, folks: thunder snow. For those of us south of the Thruway, it seems we'll see the weirdest of the weather, although the snow showers themselves "will be more scattered in nature." That almost sounds like relief, but...

Breaks of snow (will be) followed by brief heavy snowfall and possible thunder. Snowfall amounts will be highly variable this afternoon, with some locations receiving a quick 2 to 4 inches, while other locations receive less.

Winds, too, will be kicking along, gusting between 15 and 25 mph, causing blowing and drifting snow. Travel conditions will remain "hazardous" for the rest of the day. So stay off the road, if you can.

Here's how things look on the radar right now. Visit the Weather Channel online to get up-to-date radar views. From that site, you can see that the tip of the storm has just passed by Erie, Pennsylvania.

Update at 2:13pm: Route 77 (Alleghany Road) is still closed off in the Corfu area.

Emergency crews will temporarily close down Route 77 (Alleghany Road) north of the Thruway to clear a tractor trailer that was in an accident there, according to the Genesee County sheriff's dispatchers. Crews need to be able to get in and get out with the tractor trailer. The road should be opened back up shortly after the vehicle is removed. 

View Larger Map

We received the following notice of closures at the United Memorial Medical Center:

"Due to today’s severe winter weather the following outpatient services of United Memorial will be closed today:

• Batavia Family Care

• Tountas Family Care

• Tonawanda Seneca Family Care

• Byron Family Care

• The Corporate Health Center

• All services at the Jerome Center including laboratory and medical imaging

• Pembroke Diagnostic Center

• LeRoy Diagnostic Center

• Cardiac Rehab Services, EKG, Echo and Stress Testing"

Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle has posted a Google map studded with camera icons that each represent a traffic camera posted around the city of Rochester. Each camera refreshes the picture every few minutes. This is a useful service for folks commuting in and out of the city this morning and afternoon. Although, in the next hour or two, I imagine every camera will be showing about the same thing: white, and conditions around the city and on the roads back to Batavia should be about the same: crummy.

Oh yeah: Don't forget to check out our post from earlier this morning with a pair of live updating cameras posted at the Thruway interchanges with Route I-90 in Le Roy and Pembroke.

If you're looking for something to do to keep from going stir crazy this winter, you may want to visit our Announcements section. We've always got fresh info posted on upcoming events and happenings around the county. Just today we got up event listings for Richmond Memorial Library and the Cornell Cooperative Extension. Lots going at both. Be sure to check them out!

For those of you hosting happenings, there are instructions on the Announcements page on how to post your news to that section. For more detailed video instructions on posting your own blog, please visit our Help page.

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.