Snow-covered gondola cabins are seen at the Cottage in Lake Placid on Wednesday. The snowpack continues to grow across the Tri-Lakes with more snow storms expected this weekend and next week. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

SARANAC LAKE — A busy week of wintry weather is expected to continue into the weekend.

A fast-moving snowstorm tracking from the southwest is slated to graze the Tri-Lakes area Saturday night and Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service’s Burlington, Vermont office, which serves the Tri-Lakes area.

While forecasters said it was too early to nail down specific amounts as of press time Thursday evening, the general idea is for between 3 and 6 inches of snow, according to Brooke Taber, one of the lead meteorologists at NWS Burlington. Forecast models Thursday showed the storm’s track trending slightly southeast, taking the heaviest axis of snowfall away from the area, with the Capital Region and southern Vermont expected to see the highest totals.

“The higher amounts will be south and the lower amounts across the international border,” he said.

Predicted snowfall amounts could increase if the storm trends further north, or decrease if the storm track moves further away.

The storm comes on the heels of another fast-moving low-pressure system, which closed area schools on Thursday and impacted the Tri-Lakes in a two-act play, of sorts.

Thursday morning brought a quick burst of snow to the region as a warm front lifted northward, with spotty light patches of snow, sleet and freezing rain Thursday afternoon and evening as temperatures warmed — but remained below freezing on the ground.

Part two of the storm began last night, as it moved away and dragged a cold front through the area in its wake. While the front lowered temperatures back to the teens overnight and low 20s today, its bigger impact has been the winds, which picked up last night and are expected to peak this morning and gradually diminish throughout the afternoon. Maximum gusts between 40 and 50 mph are expected — with wind chill values today expected to be around zero and isolated power outages possible.

Taber said the winds will be strongest in valley areas where it gets channeled — and magnified in intensity — by local topography.

“The St. Lawerence Valley and then portions of the eastern Adirondacks,” he said. “Western Clinton and western Essex counties will have the highest wind gusts, and with that, (we’re) expecting a few power outages.”

While new snowfall accumulations will be relatively light today — around an inch or less, according to Taber — he said the winds will contribute to hazardous driving conditions throughout the day, especially during the morning commute, as it will create areas of blowing and drifting snow along open portions of area roadways.

Taber said winds will gradually diminish throughout the day.

After this weekend’s storm, Taber said a brief break is in store for the area, before the active pattern continues next week.

“We have a brief break in the action Monday and Tuesday with … near-seasonable temperatures and then the threat for another system arrives toward the middle to latter part of next week, with additional chances for snow,” he said.

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Piling up

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The snowpack has been steadily increasing across the Tri-Lakes region since the beginning of 2025, as no pronounced thaws have taken place, leaving whatever snow has fallen in place.

The University at Albany’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center maintains snowpack data collected at various elevations on Whiteface Mountain. Their highest station, located at 4,400 feet along the mountain’s Veteran’s Memorial Highway, reported a snow depth of 57 inches at 8:38 a.m. Thursday — the highest reported value yet of the 2024-25 season.