Western New Yorkers can chill out when it comes to thoughts of a "Polar Vortex." One National Weather Service meteorologist says temperatures will be colder, but we're not even close to breaking any records.
"The cold front came through during the wee hours of the morning, so temperatures are on their way down," according to National Weather Service Meteorologist John Hitchcock, who says temperatures are expected to dip into the 30's today with a breeze making it feel a bit colder.
In addition, there's a Lake Effect Snow Advisory in effect beginning Thursday morning at 3 a.m. for Southern Erie, Wyoming, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua Counties.
"We think the hills from ski country into the Southern Tier may pick up on the order of three to six inches. Temperatures are gong to be pretty close to freezing. I think the lakeshore because of the warming influence of Lake Erie will have less snow than that. The first chance of any accumulating snow in the city looks like maybe next Sunday or Monday," said Hitchcock.
What about the "Polar Vortex?"
"The term 'Polar Vortex' has been badly misused for the last year now. It's simply a shot of cold air coming.... maybe a little early. We're going to run 10-to-15-degrees below normal temperature-wise late this week, through early next week. It's definitely colder than it should be, but nothing too terribly unusual," noted Hitchcock.
Hitchcock adds we're not even close to breaking a record. He said the record lows this time of year generally fall in the teens or high single digits.