We have planned a short trip to Ithaca for some pre-Yule procurements and have to face the reality that Friday there may be a wall of snow dumping on a very discrete part of the big highway from Canada to Syracuse and on south:
A FLOW OF ARCTIC AIR WILL DEVELOP THANKSGIVING MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY FRIDAY. BANDS OF HEAVY LAKE EFFECT SNOW ARE LIKELY. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT THE HEAVIEST LAKE SNOWS WILL FALL SOUTH OF WATERTOWN ACROSS THE TUG HILL PLATEAU. HOWEVER...THE LAKE BANDS MAY SHIFT NORTH FOR AWHILE AND APPROACH THE WATERTOWN AREA. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS COULD RANGE FROM A FOOT TO 2 FEET OR MORE IN THE MOST PERSISTENT LAKE BANDS IN THE WATCH AREA.I am no fool and if we do not have a clear shot across that 45 miles or so of highway I-81 we will stay put. But that eastern route through Lowville to Utica is a tempting route around it. I just don't know how deep into the Adirondacks the lake effect goes. It is quite a thing to see from Kingston. A wall of snow clearly starting to the west out on the lake and ending to the south-east, often with clear sky all around it.
Any North Coutry advice? "Don't be so stupid" is a perfectly valid bit of advice by the way.
Comments
Kay - November 23, 2005 12:37 PM
2 feet+ is common for the Tug Hill Plateau. I have seen the snow pile up to 8-10 feet there. It the forcast is just for snow and low winds, you should be fine. High winds is another story. The road crews out there do their best to keep the roads well sanded and passable. Plan for extra time to travel.
Alan - November 23, 2005 12:53 PM
I need Brian's observations on the Lowville road and these events, too. And not that Texas side of Brian which would say something like "SNOW! I CAN"T BEAR THE SNOW. I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!"
brian - November 23, 2005 3:18 PM
Snow, snow; I can't bear the snow!
Okay, that's outta the way. :) Observations... Well, there was this post, which was written out of bitterness at sitting in Hwy 26 for a period of time. Today, however, was nice. Weather.com said it was 18 degrees at Fort Drum. So what did we do? The entirety of JAG personnel played ultimate football (a little like regular American touch football, but different). It was cold, but good.
The road between Lowville & Fort Drum is good today despite the cold, but I hear we might get up to 3 feet of lake effect snow over the weekend, so we'll see what happens.