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Harsh winter weather and dangerously cold wind chills

Martin Kaufman
/
WXXI News

The bitter cold and lake effect snow continue to make it rough for local drivers as well as anyone who is outdoors for any period of time.

The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Chill Warning for much of the region until 7am Sunday. The daytime high on Friday will only be about 1 above zero, and News 8 Meteorologist Josh Nichols says the Saturday high will be around -1.

The wind will make it feel like 25 below zero or even lower, at times, on Friday and Saturday.

There is also a Winter Weather Advisoryfrom 10am Thursday to 7am Saturday.

Several inches of snow fell in some spots from late Thursday into Friday, particularly north and east of Rochester.

Nichols says we could see another 3 to 6 inches of snow on Friday, with higher amounts in Wayne and Orleans Counties.  He says another 3 to 4 inches of snow could fall on Friday night.

Saturday will see some occasional lake snows, and continued bitterly cold weather.  

There is a Lake Effect Snow Warning for Monroe, Orleans and Wayne Counties until 7am Saturday.

Gusty winds through the period will create whiteout conditions at times, so drivers are urged to take that into their travel plans.

Sunday, the temperatures moderate, with a high temp. of 28 degrees in the forecast.

Conditions for travelers will be challenging particularly along the East Coast.

Because of the winter storm, a number of airports along the East Coast have been impacted, and several flights were canceled or delayed at the Greater Rochester International Airport. Check the airport's website, or with your airline, if you plan on traveling in the next day or so. 

A number of schools are closing locally on Friday due to the extreme conditions. You can check the list here.

As NPR reported, a  massive winter storm has brought hurricane-force winds, blizzard conditions and damaging coastal flooding to eastern New England, one day after it delivered unusual cold and snow to the South.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.