413  
FXUS61 KBGM 191145  
AFDBGM  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY  
645 AM EST THU DEC 19 2024  
   
SYNOPSIS
 
 
ANOTHER ROUND OF SNOW LIKELY FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY WITH LIGHT  
ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES EXPECTED REGION WIDE. VERY COLD  
AIR MOVES IN FOR THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH HIGHS IN  
THE TEENS AND OVERNIGHT LOWS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS. TEMPERATURES  
BEGIN TO WARM MID NEXT WEEK AS WE HEAD INTO CHRISTMAS.  
 

 
   
NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/
 
 
640 AM UPDATE...  
 
TEMPERATURES WERE SLOWER TO FALL OVERNIGHT SO THEY WERE BROUGHT  
UP A FEW DEGREES THROUGH THE MORNING. CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION  
WERE EXPANDED IN CNY THROUGH MID DAY. NO OTHER CHANGES WERE  
MADE.  
 
340 AM UPDATE...  
 
WITH THE TROUGH AXIS MOVING OFF TO THE EAST THIS MORNING, WEAK  
COLD AIR ADVECTION IS HELPING DRIVE SOME LIGHT LAKE EFFECT  
PRECIPITATION. TEMPERATURES AT LOWER ELEVATIONS ALONG THE NY  
THRUWAY HAVE BEEN WARM ENOUGH THAT PRECIPITATION TYPES HAVE  
LARGELY BEEN RAIN BUT WILL SLOWLY TRANSITION TO SNOW BY MID  
MORNING AS COLD AIR FILTERS IN. LAKE EFFECT SNOW WILL COME TO AN  
END LATE MORNING OR EARLY AFTERNOON AS AN 850 MB RIDGE AXIS  
MOVES IN. A CLIPPER SYSTEM THAT IS CURRENTLY BRINGING SNOW TO  
THE NORTHERN PLAINS THIS MORNING MOVES INTO THE GREAT LAKES  
REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH SOUTHWEST FLOW  
DEVELOPING. THE 500 MB SHORTWAVE STARTS TO BECOME NEGATIVELY  
TILTED AS IT MOVES THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES TONIGHT THOUGH THE  
SURFACE LOW ASSOCIATED WITH THE CLIPPER WILL BE FILLING. A  
DEVELOPING LOW OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COAST WILL BECOME DOMINANT  
WITH THE CLIPPER BECOMING AN OPEN WAVE AND BEGINS TO PHASE WITH  
THE LOW OFF THE COAST FRIDAY. THIS WILL LIKELY LEAVE THE REGION  
UNDER AN INVERTED TROUGH SO PRECIPITATION WILL SPREAD THROUGH  
NEPA AND INTO UPSTATE NY FRIDAY. ANTECEDENT COLD AIR WILL MEAN  
THAT THE PRECIPITATION TYPE WILL BE ALMOST ALL SNOW. THE  
EXCEPTION IS THE WYOMING VALLEY AS TEMPERATURES MAY NUDGE JUST  
ABOVE FREEZING PRIOR TO PRECIP ONSET THOUGH EVAPORATIVE COOLING  
SHOULD TRANSITION THE PRECIPITATION TO SNOW QUICKLY IF IT STARTS  
AS RAIN. THE LACK OF GOOD JET DYNAMICS WITH THE TROUGH AXIS  
ALMOST DIRECTLY OVERHEAD, LIFT WILL BE BROAD AND WEAK SO WHILE  
MUCH OF THE REGION WILL SEE SNOW FOR MOST OF THE DAY FRIDAY,  
SNOWFALL RATES WILL BE ON THE LIGHTER SIDE WITH MANY LOCATIONS  
STRUGGLING TO EVEN GET AN INCH OF SNOW BY SUNSET.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/
 
 
310 AM UPDATE...  
 
STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION ON NORTHWEST FLOW PUSHES INTO THE  
AREA AS THE CLIPPER SYSTEM MOVES OUT FRIDAY NIGHT. AN UPPER  
TROUGH WILL SETTLE OVER THE NORTHEASTERN U.S. BRINGING FALLING  
850MB TEMPS AND NORTH- NORTHWEST FLOW, THAT WILL KICK OFF LAKE  
EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS FRIDAY AND  
LASTING UNTIL AT LEAST SATURDAY NIGHT. TOTAL SNOWFALL  
ACCUMULATIONS FOR THIS PERIOD WILL BE 1-3 INCH RANGE, THOUGH  
WITH THE WIND DIRECTION LINING UP WITH THE FETCH OF SENECA AND  
CAYUGA LAKES, THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR SOME LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS  
SOUTH OF THOSE LAKES.  
 
FINALLY, THIS AIR MASS PUSHING INTO THE REGION WILL BRING THE  
COLDEST AIR WE HAVE SEEN SO FAR THIS WINTER. TEMPERATURES WILL  
CONTINUE WITH A COOLING TREND THROUGH THE SHORT TERM PERIOD.  
HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY NOT WARM UP MUCH ON SATURDAY AS  
THEY STRUGGLE TO BE IN THE UPPER TEENS AND 20S. A FEW BELOW ZERO  
READINGS WILL BE POSSIBLE SATURDAY NIGHT AND WITH PERSISTENT  
WINDS OUT OF THE NW, WE MAY APPROACH COLD WEATHER ADVISORY  
CRITERIA IN PORTIONS OF ONEIDA, OTSEGO AND DELAWARE COUNTIES. WE  
WILL HIGHLIGHT THIS IN THE HWO FOR NOW.  
 

 
   
LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/
 
 
325 AM UPDATE...  
 
HIGH PRESSURE AND DRY COLD AIR MOVES OVERHEAD ON SUNDAY. THIS  
WILL SIGNIFICANTLY DROP EQUILIBRIUM LEVELS AND TAKE AWAY ANY  
MOISTURE THAT'S LEFT IN THE DGZ LAYER. THUS, LAKE EFFECT SNOW  
WILL COME TO AN END SUNDAY. AS HIGH PRESSURE IS DIRECTLY  
OVERHEAD SUNDAY NIGHT, WINDS WILL BECOME CALM AND AT THIS TIME  
IT APPEARS LIKE MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE MOSTLY CLEAR. THESE  
CONDITIONS COMBINED WITH A FRESHLY FALLEN SNOW, WILL MAKE FOR  
GREAT RADIATIONAL COOLING CONDITIONS SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY  
MORNING. DUE TO THIS SET UP, WE DROPPED FORECAST LOWS SUNDAY  
NIGHT 5-7 DEGREES BELOW NBM GUIDANCE. HOWEVER, IT IS POSSIBLE  
THAT HIGH CLOUDS RIDING UP AND OVER THE RIDGE, MAY LIMIT COOLING  
SOME ACROSS OUR WESTERN COUNTIES, SO DIDN'T LOWER TEMPERATURES  
AS MUCH IN THOSE AREAS.  
 
TEMPERATURES WILL START TO MODERATE ON MONDAY AS A RIDGE OF  
HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE REGION. MOST MODELS ARE SHOWING  
ANOTHER CLIPPER SYSTEM SWEEPING ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES TUESDAY  
AND INTO THE NORTHEAST U.S CHRISTMAS EVE NIGHT INTO CHRISTMAS  
DAY. THERE REMAINS SOME UNCERTAINTY WITH THIS SYSTEM AS THE GFS  
HAS A LONGER LASTING SYSTEM THAN THE ECMWF. HOWEVER, BOTH MODELS  
HAVE A FAVORABLE TRACK AT THIS TIME TO KEEP TEMPERATURES COLD  
ENOUGH FOR SNOW. THIS, COMBINED ALREADY WITH ACCUMULATIONS IN  
THE FORECAST FOR THIS WEEKEND AND WITH NO CHANCES FOR  
SIGNIFICANT MELTING, THE PROBABILITY FOR A WHITE CHRISTMAS IS  
LOOKING MORE AND MORE LIKELY.  
 
COLDER AIR WILL SLOWLY RETREAT LATER IN THE LONG-TERM PERIOD.  
HIGHS CLIMB BACK INTO THE 30S CHRISTMAS DAY WITH 40S POSSIBLE BY  
NEXT THURSDAY.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /12Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/
 
 
CIGS WERE HIGHER THAN FORECAST OVERNIGHT WITH MAINLY MVFR RATHER  
THAN IFR AT BGM, SYR, ITH, AND RME. CIGS WERE RAISED AND KEPT AT  
MVFR FOR AFOREMENTIONED TERMINALS TO MATCH UPSTREAM  
OBSERVATIONS. AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN, ALL TERMINALS WILL  
BECOME VFR IN THE AFTERNOON THOUGH SOME MVFR CIGS MAY TRY TO  
HOLD ON AT SYR AND RME. TONIGHT, MORE PRECIPITATION AND LOWER  
CIGS BEGIN TO MOVE IN FROM THE WEST BUT SHOULD HOLD OFF UNTIL  
AFTER 12Z OUTSIDE OF ELM.  
 
OUTLOOK...  
 
FRIDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT... SOME RESTRICTIONS WITH LIGHT  
SNOW, ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON THROUGH THE EVENING.  
 
SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS MAY BRING  
OCCASIONAL RESTRICTIONS TO THE CENTRAL NY TERMINALS. OTHERWISE  
MAINLY VFR.  
 
MONDAY...MAINLY VFR.  
 

 
   
BGM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
PA...NONE.  
NY...NONE.  
 

 
 

 
 
SYNOPSIS...AJG  
NEAR TERM...AJG  
SHORT TERM...BTL/MPK  
LONG TERM...BTL/MPK  
AVIATION...AJG  
 
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