Upstate NY’s winter whiplash: First rain, then ice and high winds, topped with more snow by New Year’s Eve

Update: Central New York could get more than a foot of snow by New Year’s Eve

Syracuse, N.Y. — Talk about a wintry mix: Much of Upstate New York is facing a lineup of rain, freezing rain and ice, high winds and then more snow, starting today through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

In some places, up to 2 inches of rain will fall today and Monday before turning back into snow late Monday. That could cause flooding in parts of Western New York, the Southern Tier and along Lake Erie, the service warned.

Today could be particularly messy from Western New York up to Watertown and Tug Hill over to the Mohawk Valley. Temperatures are rising just as the water is coming down. That means some areas — especially in higher elevations — could see freezing rain late in the day.

Snow will keep melting Monday, before a cold front moves in that night. As the temperatures drop, winds will pick up to gusts of up to 45 mph in Central New York. Along Lake Erie, the winds could blow as fast as 60 to 70 mph. That could mean isolated power outages, the weather service warns.

Late Monday into Tuesday, the snow returns. Syracuse could wake up to 5 inches on the ground. Some areas could see as much as 9 inches through Wednesday, according to the forecast.

Here’s more of the latest forecasts from the weather service:

First the rain: Today’s temperatures are going to warm up throughout the afternoon into overnight.

That means precipitation could start this afternoon as freezing rain before continuing to dump 1 to 2 inches of rain across much of the state, from Western New York and the Southern Tier up to Tug Hill and across Central New York.

Much of Western New York is under a flood watch or warning and areas along Lake Erie could be prone to flooding, the weather service said.

Then the wind: On Monday, those warmer temperatures will rise up into the 50s by midday before plummeting back down to freezing by the evening rush hour. As the temps fall, wind gusts pick up.

That means the lake effect snow machine will start to churn as those powerful winds are blowing.

Finally, the snow: Western parts of Upstate will see snowfall starting late Monday. It’s predicted to start falling in Syracuse and Central New York around 7 p.m. Monday.

Up to 9 inches could fall in parts of Central New York through Wednesday.

A winter storm watch is in effect for Madison, Onondaga and Oneida counties starting 7 p.m. Monday.