Syracuse, N.Y. — Roads across Upstate New York are already getting slippery as the season’s first widespread snowstorm arrives as forecast.
A number of school districts, including Syracuse, will be closed today due to the weather.
Snow started falling early this morning and is expected to continue through early evening. Snowfall could be intense, falling at a rate of 1 inch per hour at times.
Nearly all of Upstate is under a winter weather advisory, a mid-level alert calling for 3 to 6 inches of snow across much of the region. A foot or more of snow could fall on hilltops and along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
“A strengthening coastal storm will bring a widespread moderate to heavy snowfall across the region today through this evening,” the National Weather Service said.
This storm won’t be as intense as the record-breaking lake effect storm that hit on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, but its effects will be more widespread. For many areas of Upstate outside of the traditional lake effect snow belts, this will be the first snowfall of the season.
“Plan on slippery road conditions,” the advisory says. “The hazardous conditions could impact the Tuesday morning and evening commutes.”
The snow will wind down from west to east, ending in the Finger Lakes by lunchtime and persisting in the Mohawk Valley until late afternoon.