Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It's hard to imagine that just a week ago the Buffalo southtowns and much of the region was crippled by a lake effect snow storm that brought snow accumulations measured by the foot.
Sunday, it is rain that will be center stage as creeks and waterways swell with runoff and the melt off from the still significant snow pack across parts of the region.
Municipal crews were busy Saturday continuing to remove snow from streets and highways and clearing storm drains to ensure the water has a clear path.
"The rain will arrive in the western Southern Tier early to mid morning, then reach the Niagara Frontier and Genesee Valley mid to late morning," National Weather Service forecasters say in their forecast discussion. The rain will begin to tape late tonight and overnight, forecasters say.
Meteorologists also have their eyes on a cold front system that will impact the weather significantly across the region Wednesday in the form of rain and gusty winds. "Wind gusts up to 50 mph are likely with the potential for stronger wind gusts northeast of the Lakes into Wednesday night." Temperatures Wednesday will be in the upper 50's and will plunge into the 20's overnight into Thursday.
Colder temperatures Thursday and Friday may be enough to allow for some lake effect snow to develop across part of the region with daytime temperatures in the 30's, forecasters say.