weather

Here's a news release from the Buffalo office of the National Weather Service.

The National Weather Service will be conducting a SKYWARN spotter training seminar in Batavia at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13 at the Genesee County Fire Training Center, 7690 State St. Road.

It's sponsored by the Genesee County Office of Emergency Services and will last about two hours. There is no cost for the training.

SKYWARN is a national effort to save lives during severe weather emergencies with an expanding network of trained volunteer weather spotters. SKYWARN spotters support their local community and government by providing reports of severe weather directly to the National Weather Service in Buffalo through amateur radio or by phone using the the NWS spotter hotline. The services performed by SKYWARN spotters have saved many lives.

The National Weather Service has a number of devices for detecting severe thunderstorms. Included in these are Doppler radar, satellite, and lightning detection networks. However, the most important tool for observing thunderstorms is the trained eye of the storm spotter.

By providing observations, SKYWARN spotters assist National Weather Service staff in their warning decisions and enable the National Weather Service to fulfill its mission of protecting life and property. Storm spotters are, and always will be, an indispensable part of the severe local storm warning program.

The basic training session provides a brief overview of the National Weather Service organization and its responsibilities, severe weather safety, and basic severe weather meteorology including how thunderstorms, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes form.

Anyone can become a severe weather spotter for the National Weather Service. SKYWARN training is free and open to the public.

For further information, you can call the National Weather Service at (716) 565-0204, ext. 223, or to register for the program, please call Genesee County Emergency Services at 344-0078.

More information about SKYWARN is available on the NWS Buffalo Web site at http://www.weather.gov/buf/spt.htm.

One or two inches of rain expected late Thursday, combined with residual snowmelt and saturated ground, could lead to minor flooding along creeks and low-lying areas, according to the National Weather Service.

A flood watch has been issued for Thursday afternoon through Saturday morning.

There is a potential for flooding along the Tonawanda, Black and Oatka creeks.

Both the winter weather advisory and the flood warning for Genesee County have been canceled by the National Weather Service.

Above, portion of a barn with old farm implements on Main Road in Stafford.

A flood watch remains in effect through tomorrow night, and now the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch starting late tonight through Sunday night.

Heavy wet snow is expected with accumulations of 6 to 8 inches.

The snow is predicted to start around daybreak and taper off later in the afternoon.

Winds are expected to be 10 to 20 mph.

The weather service said its forecast confidence is "medium."

Meanwhile, rain today and snowmelt still could produce minor flooding along creeks and in poorly drained low-lying areas.

Heavy rain and warmer temperatures are heading toward Genesee County and that could lead to flooding, according to the National Weather Service.

A flood watch is in effect from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening.

Tonight temperatures are expected to hit 48 degrees with an 80-percent chance of rain.

The coming storm could dump as much as two inches of rain and, combined with snowmelt, could cause creeks to rise and low-lying areas to fill with water.

Overall, any flooding is expected to be minor.

The National Weather Service has canceled the flood watch for Genesee County.

The threat of significant rainfall in the region has ended, according to the weather service.

Heavy snow melt and rain could lead to minor flooding in parts of Genesee County, according to the National Weather Service.

There is a flood watch in effect for late tonight through Monday evening.

Minor flooding is possible along creeks and rivers as well as low-lying, poorly drained areas.

Thunderstorms may produce localized heavier rainfall and pose a risk for more significant flooding in those areas, according to the NWS.

Though rainfall will cease around midday Monday, some streams will not crest until Monday night or predawn Tuesday.

Weather: Overcast all day. There's an 80-percent chance of snow tonight, but no prediction of significant accumulation.

Photos, an abandoned farmhouse on Route 262, Bergen.

The storm that passed through Genesee County this morning has passed to the east and the National Weather Service has canceled the storm warning for our area.

Some light snow, with as much as an inch accumulation, is expected this evening and tonight.

The picture above was taken during some of the heaviest of the snowfall out on Prole Road, Stafford.

Several inches of snow have fallen this morning and we seem to be in the heaviest band of the storm right now.

There's a 50-60 percent chance of snow through the afternoon, tapering off by this evening.

The winter storm warning remains in effect.

Accumulations of heavy, wet snow -- up to 10 inches -- are expected to hit the region within the next 24 hours by late Thursday night.

A winter weather watch is in place starting tonight late Thursday night through Friday afternoon.

Winds will be 10 to 20 mph from the northeast.

The storm will reach from all of Western New York into Central New York.

During heavy snowfall, visibility will be cut to quarter mile.

Temperatures will be around 32 at the start of the storm, dropping to the 20s, according to the weather service.

The forecaster confidence: High for the Southern Tier to the Finger Lakes, medium for Buffalo to Rochester and the North Country.

From 3 to 6 inches of snow is expected to hit Genesee County overnight.

A winter weather advisory has been issue for 7 p.m. through 11 a.m. The heaviest snow fall is expected from between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Winds are expected to come from the northeast at 10 to 20 mph.

Photo: A dormant cornfield off South Main Street Road, Batavia, just before noon today.

The roof on the Kwik Fill at Jackson and Ellicott streets, Batavia, was peeled right off by strong winds this morning.

The incident was reported at 6:23 a.m.

City fire responded.

An electrical line was arcing so National Grid was called in to shut off power.

There is a wind advisory in place until 6 p.m 

The wind may hamper search efforts for the missing man in Darien.  It's possible that any aircraft that could be used to assist in the search will be grounded due to high winds.

Scattered snow showers are expected throughout the day.

It's 50 degrees, the skies are clear, the sun is out -- yeah, sure, it's windy, but surely this is a sign of early spring, right?

Don't get your hopes up.

By 9 p.m., temperatures are expected to dip to 36 degrees, and it will be below freezing by 10 a.m.

There's a 50-percent chance of snow over night.

The the next 10-day forecast shows nothing much above 30 degrees.

BTW: There's also a wind advisory in effect until 6 p.m. Winds will be 20 to 30 mph with gusts of 55 mph.

A winter storm front moved through Genesee County this morning dropping two or three inches of snow.  

The forecast for the rest of the day is a bit of wind and maybe a little light snow. 

Here's what Downtown Batavia looked like about 30 minutes ago. The snow has slowed considerably since then, but road crews report a new around of heavy snow crossing the county.

The weather advisory remains in effect until 1 a.m.

This is a particularly icy-slick snowstorm and there are reports of lots of cars sliding off roadways.

From 3 to 5 inches of snow are expected to hit Genesee County some time after 1 p.m.

The National Weather Service issued an advisory for the expected storm, which is effect until 1 a.m., Sunday.

The forecast doesn't call for much in the way of winds, though visibility is expected to be reduced a half mile.

The NWS warns of hazardous driving conditions during the storm.

It's not the major storm once predicted, but Batavia is getting hit by a stiff wind and moderate snowfall.

The anticipated storm didn't deliver as much snow as expected, but still enough that Batavia residents were out this morning clearing three or four inches of heavy snow from their driveways and walks.

Above, Bob Terry clears snow from his driveway on Osterhout Avenue.