Rochester, NY (WHAM) - A bitter cold blast of Arctic air will be moving into WNY soon. The air will arrive behind a cold front that is moving southeast through Canada right now. The best estimate of the fronts arrival time in WNY is mid to late evening Thursday. A burst of snow will accompany the arrival of the cold front with most areas picking up a quick 1 to 1.5" of snow late Thursday evening.
Even a rumble or two of thunder will be possible as the front crosses the region. As the cold air settles into the region we'll also see some lake effect snow develop heading into Friday, especially north of the Thruway. A few more inches of snow will fall Friday morning into Saturday morning in the bitter cold air.
The bigger story for Friday's weather will be the cold. This will likely be the coldest air in a year for Rochester. The last time that the air temperature dropped below zero was February 3rd, 2022 when the temperature dipped to -3. The temperature during the day Friday will stay between o and 5 degrees for many areas.
When the temperature is combined with the wind Friday it will produce wind chill temperatures as cold as -20 for many areas around Rochester.
Wind chill temperatures in this range can cause frostbite on exposed skin in a short period of time. Try to reduce your exposure to the cold and limit your time outdoors Friday if possible. The good news about the brutally cold air is that it won't last long. By Saturday morning we'll see temperatures move back through the teens, eventually reaching the 20s once again by Saturday evening.
We'll keep you posted about any potential weather alerts or warnings related to the cold over the next two days.
You can also get those alerts instantly with the 13WHAM Weather App.