Weekend Snowstorm Update: “Monster Blizzard” to Miss New York

Central New York is catching a much needed break from the extreme winter weather.

The Mohawk Valley has seen nonstop lake effect snow since the first day of 2025.

While snowfall totals here surpassed 3 feet, some of the surrounding areas reported over 5 and a half feet of accumulation.

Paired with the endless snow is an extreme cold snap that brought temperatures down into dangerous territory, with wind chill values making it feel like -30 degrees outside.

Ray Stagich of The Weather Channel says this sets the tone for what he says will be a more "traditional" winter in Central New York.

Read More: January to Bring More Snow, Extreme Cold to Central New York

One thing that is no longer in the cards, however, is a "monster blizzard" that had weather watchers' attention.

Some earlier projections had the storm blanketing New York and a portion of New England over the weekend.

Stagich shared the welcome news on Thursday that the storm will now miss the Empire State entirely.

"Yes, earlier in the week certainly looked like a potential nor'easter. A strong storm coming up from the East Coast out of the South," he told WIBX. "The storm will still be there, but it's going to bring snow to the South."

Stagich said the winter storm is now slated to impact the areas around Atlanta, Birmingham, and Nashville.

Updated January Winter Weather Outlook

Stagich says there will be periods of relief, but any warm ups will be short lived because "the cold is here to stay."

One short respite will be on tap tomorrow, January 10, which will be the first day since the New Year that there's no chance of snow is in the forecast.

Additionally, temperatures will "warm up" to around 30 degrees this weekend and will not be accompanied by any negative wind chill values.

But come Tuesday, January 14, the snow and chilly weather will return to the forecast.

Stagich also shared his insights about what winter will be like in New York and how long we'll need to keep on the snow tires.

"We're just getting into some of the coldest time of winter," he said, which he said typically arrives mid to late January.

This also marks when the Great Lakes start to fully freeze over, the chances for extreme lake effect snow dwindles.

"If [the Lakes] don't get a completely frozen over, there's a chance we could still have opportunities for more lake effect snow through the rest of the month," he said, adding totals will be far less than the 60 to 70 inches parts of Central New York saw earlier this month.

Speaking of the cold, Stagich said that January will be chilly but it won't be one for the record books.

"I don't think we're going to have a record-breaking month overall in terms of cold," he said.

He defines extreme cold as daytime highs in the Adirondacks struggling to get out of the single digits and into the teens and 20s. He also considers extreme cold as overnight lows hitting well below zero.

Read More: Fantastic and Rare Celestial Event Visible in NY Throughout January

"We haven't really seen that," Stagich said. 

As for what the next few weeks will look like, he says the weather will "turn colder in that second to last week of January."

"I can say cold, but not extremely cold, over the next couple of weeks," Stagich advised.

Current Forecast

Here's what the Weather Channel says what's in store for the Utica area until January 17.

Thursday Night: Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 13F. Winds gusting up to 20 mph.
Friday, January 10: Mostly cloudy skies. High 23F.
Friday Night: Cloudy. Snow showers developing after midnight. Low 17F. About one inch of snow expected.
Saturday, January 11: Mainly cloudy with snow showers around in the morning. High 26F.
Saturday Night: Scattered snow showers during the evening. Then partly to mostly cloudy overnight. Low near 20F.
Sunday, January 12: More clouds than sun. High 31F.
Sunday Night: Cloudy early with partial clearing expected late. Low 21F.
Monday, January 13: Cloudy skies. High 33F.
Monday Night: Snow showers. Low 22F.  Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Tuesday, January 14: Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the morning. High around 25F.
Tuesday Night: Scattered flurries and snow showers. Low 11F. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Wednesday, January 15: Cloudy. High 17F.
Wednesday Night: Overcast. Low around 10F.
Thursday, January 16: Overcast. High 18F.
Thursday Night: Considerable cloudiness. Low 12F.
Friday, January 17: Mostly cloudy skies. High 24F.
Friday Night: A few clouds from time to time. Low 13F.

WIBX will reach back out to Ray Stagich and The Weather Channel should a new winter system develop in the coming weeks.

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