Gray skies stretch over the Buffalo skyline this morning as a blustery south breeze pushes across Lake Erie. The air feels heavier — damp, unsettled — as the first in a series of November systems sweeps toward western New York. After a mild start near 40°F, conditions will slide into a classic early winter pattern, with rain giving way to snow by the end of the weekend.
The National Weather Service reports that showers will expand by midday, growing steadier and gustier through late afternoon. Winds could top 30 mph, especially along the waterfront and I-90 corridor. Rain lingers into Saturday, when temperatures drop back into the low 40s under breezy northwest winds. Late Saturday night into Sunday, colder air deepens, setting the stage for a rain-to-snow transition — the first true taste of winter for many in the region.
By Sunday night, scattered snow showers could blanket higher elevations south of the city and briefly whiten lawns across the metro. Travel may become slick in pockets east of Buffalo where temperatures dip below freezing.
Monday brings another round of light snow showers, reinforcing the chill with highs stuck in the 30s. Veterans Day looks drier but brisk, with gusts off the lake keeping it feeling like the 20s.
After all, this is November in western New York — and once those lake clouds form, it rarely takes long before winter takes control.
