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Central NY could see record warmth, flash freeze and 8 inches of snow — in 48 hours
Syracuse, N.Y. — Hang on tight: Upstate New York is going for a wild weather ride over the next few days.
It starts with potentially record warmth today and Wednesday, then a strong cold front with damaging winds on Wednesday, then a flash freeze late Wednesday into Thursday. Capping it will be a blast of possibly heavy lake effect snow for a narrow swath of Central New York.
The wind could also knock down tree branches and power lines across the northern half of Upstate. The National Weather Service has issued high wind alerts for Wednesday afternoon and evening for gusts nearing 60 mph.
“It will feel like two very different seasons ahead and behind this (cold) front, with multiple hazards possible,” the weather service office in Buffalo said.
Here’s a rundown of what to expect, day by day, according to the weather service.
Today. Under mostly sunny skies, temperatures climb quickly today, peaking in the mid 60s. That could be record-breaking: Syracuse is expected to reach 66 degrees this afternoon, and the record for Feb. 27 is 64. Albany could reach 64 today; the record there is 62.
Today’s highs could be nearly 30 degrees warmer than normal, which is about 38 degrees.
Light rain starts to move in this afternoon.
Wednesday: Another warm, possibly record-breaking day, with highs again in the mid 60s. The Feb. 28 record for Syracuse is 66 degrees.
Rain becomes more likely and more steady Wednesday morning and through the afternoon. Some areas could see a half-inch or more. There’s even a chance for thunder in the afternoon.
The unseasonable warmth comes to a screeching halt early Wednesday afternoon when the cold front arrives from the northwest. Temperatures will plunge from those mid 60s around lunch time to the low 20s by midnight. Winds start to howl in the afternoon and pick up speed overnight.
“Temperatures are expected to drop RAPIDLY behind the front, possibly as much as 20 to 25 degrees in 2 to 4 hours,” the weather service said.
The combination of rain and plummeting temperatures raises the danger of a flash freeze, where water on roads, sidewalks and parking lots is rapidly transformed into a thin but treacherous sheet of ice. If the rain is heavy enough, it will have washed away road salt, and public works crews can’t spread salt fast enough to stay even with the falling air temperatures.
High winds from the northwest and dropping temperatures also spell lake effect snow, starting late Wednesday night.
Counties shaded in brown are under a high wind watch Wednesday afternoon into Thursday. Gusts could reach 60 mph and cause power outages.National Weather Service
Thursday: Strong winds continue throughout the day, and temperatures never get out of the 20s. Eight inches or more of lake effect snow could hammer a narrow section of Central New York, including Syracuse.
“While our headlines are presently focused on the wind,” the weather service said, “the lake effect snow may end up being the more significant hazard.”
If that snow materializes, Thursday could be Syracuse’s snowiest day of a relatively snow-free winter. The most snow on any day this winter was 5.6 inches, on Jan. 6. The two-day total of Jan. 6 and 7 was 10.2 inches, the only real snowstorm of the season.
Wind and snow taper off by sunset Thursday, and the warm winter we’ve come to know returns for the weekend. Highs on Friday are in the upper 40s, and back into the 60s by Sunday.
Up to 10 inches of lake effect snow could fall in Central New York late Wednesday and through the day on Thursday. That follows what could be record-high temperatures today and Wednesday.National Weather Service
News
Map: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Alaska
Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 4 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “light,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. The New York Times
A major, 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the Alaska-Canada border on Saturday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The temblor happened at 11:41 a.m. Alaska time about 56 miles north of Yakutat, Alaska, data from the agency shows.
U.S.G.S. data earlier reported that the magnitude was 6.7.
As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.
Aftershocks in the region
An aftershock is usually a smaller earthquake that follows a larger one in the same general area. Aftershocks are typically minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.
Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles
Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.
When quakes and aftershocks occurred
Source: United States Geological Survey | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Alaska time. Shake data is as of Saturday, Dec. 6 at 3:57 p.m. Eastern. Aftershocks data is as of Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7:26 p.m. Eastern.
Maps: Daylight (urban areas); MapLibre (map rendering); Natural Earth (roads, labels, terrain); Protomaps (map tiles)
News
National Park Service drops free admission on MLK Day, Juneteenth while adding Trump’s birthday
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service will offer free admission to U.S. residents on President Donald Trump’s birthday next year — which also happens to be Flag Day — but is eliminating the benefit for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth.
The new list of free admission days for Americans is the latest example of the Trump administration downplaying America’s civil rights history while also promoting the president’s image, name and legacy.
Last year, the list of free days included Martin Luther King Jr Day and Juneteenth — which is June 19 — but not June 14, Trump’s birthday.
The new free-admission policy takes effect Jan. 1 and was one of several changes announced by the Park Service late last month, including higher admission fees for international visitors.
The other days of free park admission in 2026 are Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Constitution Day, Veterans Day, President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (Oct. 27) and the anniversary of the creation of the Park Service (Aug. 25).
Eliminating Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, which commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Americans were emancipated, removes two of the nation’s most prominent civil rights holidays.
Some civil rights leaders voiced opposition to the change after news about it began spreading over the weekend.
“The raw & rank racism here stinks to high heaven,” Harvard Kennedy School professor Cornell William Brooks, a former president of the NAACP, wrote on social media about the new policy.
Kristen Brengel, a spokesperson for the National Parks Conservation Association, said that while presidential administrations have tweaked the free days in the past, the elimination of Martin Luther King Jr. Day is particularly concerning. For one, the day has become a popular day of service for community groups that use the free day to perform volunteer projects at parks.
That will now be much more expensive, said Brengel, whose organization is a nonprofit that advocates for the park system.
“Not only does it recognize an American hero, it’s also a day when people go into parks to clean them up,” Brengel said. “Martin Luther King Jr. deserves a day of recognition … For some reason, Black history has repeatedly been targeted by this administration, and it shouldn’t be.”
Some Democratic lawmakers also weighed in to object to the new policy.
“The President didn’t just add his own birthday to the list, he removed both of these holidays that mark Black Americans’ struggle for civil rights and freedom,” said Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. “Our country deserves better.”
A spokesperson for the National Park Service did not immediately respond to questions on Saturday seeking information about the reasons behind the changes.
Since taking office, Trump has sought to eliminate programs seen as promoting diversity across the federal government, actions that have erased or downplayed America’s history of racism as well as the civil rights victories of Black Americans.
Self-promotion is an old habit of the president’s and one he has continued in his second term. He unsuccessfully put himself forward for the Nobel Peace Prize, renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace after himself, sought to put his name on the planned NFL stadium in the nation’s capital and had a new children’s savings program named after him.
Some Republican lawmakers have suggested putting his visage on Mount Rushmore and the $100 bill.
News
A 3-D Look at Trump’s Proposed White House Ballroom
The ballroom design featured 50-foot ceilings, arched windows on three sides and skylights. It included elevated terraced walkways wrapping on two sides of the building, and a main visitors’ entrance on the east.
An enclosed passageway above the east colonnade connected the White House residence to the ballroom on the second floor.
Though the design proposed by McCrery Architects would have dwarfed the rest of the White House complex, Mr. Trump wanted to go even bigger.
Mr. Trump’s vision is to build a ballroom more than twice as large as the one shown here in the proposal by McCrery Architects.
Mr. Trump has said that the ballroom — which is expected to cost $300 million — would not be paid for by taxpayers. He said that he has already raised $350 million from donors, including from major tech and crypto companies.
Davis R. Ingle, a White House spokesman, said in a statement that Shalom Baranes Associates, which is based in Washington, D.C., would join “a team of experts to carry out President Trump’s vision on building what will be the greatest addition to the White House since the Oval Office.”
A White House official said that McCrery Architects would continue to serve as a “valuable consultant” on the project.
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