Updates at around noon about the snowstorm —
— What’s happened so far? What’s to come?
A trained spotter has measured that 4.2 inches of snow have fallen in the Tompkins County town of Groton, according to the National Weather Service. A National Weather Service employee has also measured 4.2 inches of snow in Northeast Ithaca.
The Ithaca area is supposed to get close to 7 inches by the end of the snowstorm. The latest update from the NWS put the figure somewhere between 6 and 9 inches.
— When’s it coming?
Travel conditions in the Ithaca area are supposed to be poor primarily tonight.
The National Weather Service released the following images late Wednesday morning:
— What’s closing, when? (See below for longer list of area closings)
The Ithaca City School District will be in session throughout the day.
However, “all school-sponsored after-school and evening activities are cancelled. There will be no late bus transportation,” the school said in a statement posted to its website.
— Is everyone okay?
Since 7 a.m., about 20 vehicles in the area have slid into ditches, according to the Tompkins County 911 Dispatch Center. None of those accidents has proven serious.
“Nothing serious,” the dispatcher added.
— Who is getting hit the hardest?
Interstate 81 closer to the Syracuse area has been closed. If you’re heading up north you may want to think about picking another route.
Syracuse.com reports that “extremely dangerous” conditions prompted the closure of the major highway. The NWS said some sections of Onondaga County have gotten upwards of 18 inches of snow.
— Is a warning in effect?
A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until tomorrow morning, according to Cornell Weather.
Cornell Weather wrote:
“We’re really starting to see the snow come down, so please use caution while traveling or avoid it altogether, especially if you’ll be driving through open areas. It’s likely that we’ll see snow for the remainder of the day, and the Ithaca area continues to be under a Winter Storm Warning until 7:00 am tomorrow morning.
— How are the roads?
At least one person on social media was warning of bad road conditions in Lansing:
We’ll update with more information when we have it.
— How about some photos of the snow?
Okay, you got it. We’ll be posting more later in the day:
And some more photos of a snowy Ithaca, taken on my iPhone on the way from the courthouse to the coffee roaster this morning:
Earlier —
Ithaca, N.Y. — The following schools in the Ithaca area are closed because of today’s snowstorm:
— Groton Central School District
— Cortland City School District
— Homer Central School District
— Tompkins-Cortland Community College
— There’s a one hour delay at the Dryden Central School District.
Why I shop downtown — Marty
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At 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, the National Weather Service released a new forecast for the amount of snow in the Ithaca area expected to fall by Thursday morning: 5.7 inches.
“Adjustments were made to total snow amounts; including lesser amounts for lower elevations especially from Twin Tiers southward,” the weather service said.
The dispatch center of Tompkins County had seen no major accidents as of about 8 a.m.
The weather service’s announcement contained the following charts:
