Major Winter Storm to hit Finger Lakes

A major winter storm is developing over the Gulf of Mexico this morning and lifting north towards us. This storm will actually have two centers of low pressure, which will extend the storm for a period of nearly 36 hours. It is an extremely complex forecast and the models are still shifting and adjusting. Confidence is below normal. I tried to squeeze as much information on this map as possible, using different color lines to portray different pieces of information. Click the map to enlarge it.First, the yellow dashed lines represent the onset of snow this afternoon, with snow becoming heavy at times within and hour or so of the onset.The green line shows how far north and west I think the rain will get overnight. Areas east of the green line will change over to rain from southeast to northwest. The rain should reach the green line a bit before midnight and remain roughly in that position until about 7am. Some wavering of the line is likely, as is some periods of sleet just west of the green line.The ice threat I mentioned last night seems much lower, with only small amounts of ice near the green line.Precipitation should taper Wednesday morning before intensifying Wednesday afternoon and evening as heavy snow, especially east of the black dashed line.Snowfall amounts on map are storm totals, regardless of any melting that may occur Tuesday night.For the latest updates, local cancellations, and radar images visit our Local Weather Center.