(Photo Source: Stephen Yang/The Cortland Voice).
Your Cortland County weather forecast for Monday, April 18, 2022:
While the daytime hours today will be mostly be quiet, a quick but possibly intense late season winter weather event will unfold tonight.
Sunshine will filter through increasing thin clouds this morning with thicker clouds settling in for the afternoon. Precipitation is not expected through the morning or much of the afternoon.
Southeast winds will be blustery with speeds around 15 mph and gusts as high as 35 mph.
The increasing clouds and gusty southeast winds will be indicators of the weather still to come tonight.
Temperatures will manage to reach all the way into the low 50s this afternoon. However, colder air will work in as precipitation starts to make its way toward the area late.
As the precipitation intensifies, it will help cool the atmosphere. Combined with the loss of daytime heating, evening temperatures will quickly drop to the mid 30s.
Snow will move in by the evening, possibly starting as some rain if it moves in before sunset. Periods of potentially heavy snow will be likely through the night.
Within the broader system over the entire region, there will be some small-scale bands of particularly intense snow. These bands will both help cool the atmosphere and produce snowfall rates that will overcome any lingering above-freezing air.
The result is potentially significant snow accumulations overnight. With a razor thin margin temperatures and the uncertainty in the placement of these microscale bands, exactly how much snow falls is both highly uncertain and likely to be highly variable across the region.
At the least, a couple inches of slushy snow are likely, especially over higher elevations. However, if everything comes together perfectly, double-digit snow amounts are possible in localized pockets.
Here is a look at the weather for the next few days:
Tuesday: Morning snow transitioning to a mix of rain and snow showers. Morning lows in the low 30s. Afternoon highs in the low 40s.
Wednesday: Morning clouds. Afternoon sun. Morning lows in the low 30s. Afternoon highs in the mid 40s.
Thursday: More clouds than sun. A few stray showers. Morning lows in the mid 30s. Afternoon highs in the mid 50s.
Friday: Increasing clouds. Late day rain. Morning lows in the low 40s. Afternoon highs in the low 60s.
