First Alert Weather In-Depth: Timely advice for a big change in the weather pattern

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — This time of the year snowfall is going to be cumulative. That may sound obvious, but at certain times of the season the snow will pile-up day after day.

And even if it is a small amount of snow at any one time, each day the tally gets higher and higher. In the short term, we see a weather pattern that is conducive for more snow. Specifically, this could happen Thursday, Friday, and Saturday across portions of Western New York. It will likely be manageable amount of snow, but by the end of the weekend there is an early estimate of three to eight inches of snow. This forecast will be updated in the coming days.

When looking beyond the weekend there appears to be another big change to the weather pattern.  Next week a ridge of high pressure will be developing across the eastern half of the country. As a result, the temperature will rise rapidly and easily reach above freezing, and could end up near 50 degrees. Naturally, any snow and ice will be melting pretty rapidly.

That snow and ice melt could produce some issues if you are a homeowner. So, there are some recommendations to reduce that snow load and the eventually water run-off.

First, remember to clear away as much of the snow from the base of your foundation. Rapid runoff could potentially add to water ending up in your basement. Remember to remove snow and ice from your gutters. Obviously, you want to be as safe as possible when trying to do anything on or near the roof.  In addition, it’s a good idea to remove as much snow from the immediate edge of the roofline to deduce the effect of ice damming. Many homeowners will use a roof rake to pull that snow off the roof safely.