Cold stuff....

The reports out of Buffalo are amazing....snow totals are near two feet in and near the city now. Below my portion of this post is another statement out of the Buffalo NWS office...

Around here, sunshine will break out today and highs will only ease up toward the mid 60s. But the big story is tonight. I think we are heading down to the mid 30s for lows, and that should be cold enough for a frost across a good bit of the viewing area. The record low tomorrow in Charlotte is 34, and I think we could challenge that tonight.

Now, one fly in the ointment of getting frost tonight is this....dewpoint depressions. What I mean is that we will likely see dewpoints sag into the upper 20s tonight. You need to wind up having the temperature and dewpoint pretty close together to get frost to form, so we could see some folks being cold enough for frost but the low level airmass too dry for frost. We shall see. At any rate, you will want to protect tender vegetation you have tonight due to the frost possibilities.

Weekend weather is great with lots of sun and highs in the mid to upper 60s. It will be another cold night tomorrow night with lows in the mid to upper 30s.

Time for another photo. This is from atop Mt. Jefferson Tuesday morning. Below is the town of Jefferson, NC along Highway 221 up in Ashe county.

And, here is the statement I was referring to out of the NWS in Buffalo...

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
650 AM EDT FRI OCT 13 2006

NYZ001-002-010-011-085-131400-
NIAGARA-ORLEANS-NORTHERN ERIE-GENESEE-SOUTHERN ERIE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...NIAGARA FALLS...MEDINA...BUFFALO...
BATAVIA...ORCHARD PARK...SPRINGVILLE
650 AM EDT FRI OCT 13 2006

..SNOWBAND BEGINNING TO MOVE NORTHWARD

A MAJOR EARLY SEASON LAKE EFFECT SNOW STORM CONTINUES TO HAMMER
THE REGION AROUND BUFFALO NEW YORK THROUGH WHAT IS NORMALLY THE
EARLY MORNING RUSH HOUR.

AT 630AM A 15 MILE WIDE BAND OF SNOW OFF LAKE ERIE EXTENDED ACROSS
NORTHERN ERIE AND GENESEE COUNTIES....SOUTHERN NIAGARA COUNTY AND
ALL OF ORLEANS COUNTY. THE BAND WAS SHOWING A SLOW BUT STEADY
DRIFT TO THE NORTH OVER THE PAST HOUR OR SO.

THE LAKE EFFECT BAND IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN ACROSS AN AREA FROM
THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE CITY OF BUFFALO THROUGH NIAGARA FALLS
AND EAST TO MEDINA IN ORLEANS COUNTY. AN ADDITIONAL 3 TO 5 INCHES
OF SNOW IS LIKELY IN THIS AREA BEFORE THE BAND GRADUALLY WEAKENS
AND DRIFTS NORTH OF THE NIAGARA FRONTIER LATER THIS MORNING. THE
BAND WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LIGHTNING AND THUNDER AT TIMES. IN
ADDITION, ALTHOUGH WINDS WILL BE LIGHT WITHIN THE CENTER OF THE
SNOW BAND, WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 20 MPH ARE LIKELY ON THE EDGES
OF THE BAND AS IT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA.

DRIVING BANS EXIST IN MANY COMMUNITIES. IN ADDITION, IN AREAS
WHERE POWER OUTAGES HAVE OCCURRED, DO NOT WALK AROUND OUTSIDE
UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. YOU COULD CONTACT DOWNED POWER LINES
AND RISK ELECTROCUTION.