Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The immediate Buffalo-Niagara region is getting a break from the lake effect rain that persisted through the day Wednesday, soaking the drought-starved ground.
Lake effect rain will continue downwind of Lake Erie through the rest of the week. Areas under the most persistent lake bands will see an additional couple of inches of rainfall through Friday, which will be largely beneficial given moderate to severe drought conditions across much of the region, National Weather Service forecasters say.
"The lake effect rain is still ongoing," NWS meteorologist Phillip Pandolfo tells WBEN. "It is well south of the Buffalo metro area." Pandolfo says the line of rain should, for the most part, remain across the western southern tier through the day Thursday.
Showers may expand northward across the Buffalo metro area Thursday afternoon. "We're not expecting any rainfall amounts close to what we saw over the last couple of days," Pandolfo notes.
How much rain fell?
The rain across the metro Buffalo area Wednesday was seemingly endless, and measured by the inch.
"Here at the Buffalo Airport, we recorded 1.97 inches of rain through the duration of this lake effect event," Pandolfo tells WBEN. "The highest total we have received so far is out of Derby. A spotter there recorded 3.64 inches of rain."
AccuWeather Radar for Buffalo metro area
What if?
"This kind of setup would be conducive to some heavy lake effect snow," Pandolfo surmises, if the temperatures were about 10 degrees colder.
Pandolfo says with much colder air, the atmosphere can't hold as much moisture, and the radar screen would likely look much different had this been a snow, instead of rain, event.
"It definitely would have been a prolific lake effect event," Pandolfo suggests.
The weekend?
Improvement is in store for the weekend, with much drier conditions in the forecast.
"The forecast remains on track for a drying trend this weekend, especially on Sunday. Saturday there still may be a few spotty lake effect showers south of the metro area."
By Sunday things look dry and that should continue through at least Tuesday.