Shawdesh Desk:

Groundhogs Day has come and gone, with Punxsutawney Phil not seeing his shadow, therefore ushering in an early arrival for spring. That’s at least what the legend says, although the groundhog isn’t exactly batting 1000 percent over the last few decades.

We’re in the midst of a warmer than normal temperatures in New York State, and it should get even warmer by the time we reach the end of the week; some parts of the state could reach 50 degrees.

However, that warmer weather shouldn’t be permanent. We will likely be back in cold and even snow by next week, with another possible heavy snow event for early next week.

Direct Weather is tracking snow totals off the European and GFS models, with could produce accumulating snow, possibly even near a foot by Valentine’s Day next week.

This is part of a colder spell of air that should filter into the state by next Monday.

Ryan Hall also predicts a colder back half of February for the northeast and east coast in general. He refers to at least one more “big daddy snowstorm,” likely for the last two weeks of February. Exactly where that snowstorm takes place is still undetermined, but everyone agrees the last two weeks of February will be colder.

The Weather Channel’s 10-day forecast for Western New York reveals that high temperatures will go into the 20’s by the middle of next week. That’s a good 20 degrees cooler than what the high temperatures will be by the end of this week.

Hopefully, March will be tame but it looks like February will be a mixed bag of good and bad weather.