Our bizarrely autumnlike winter weather continues today with only a little bit of snow mixed with rain to ensure the snow won't accumulate. The high temperature will reach near 36 degrees.

So the temperatures won't be too high and the snow definitely won't, but the winds will whip up. Wind gusts could go as high as 41 mph. Batten the hatches. Rain and snow showers are likely to continue before midnight, and there is a slight chance the rain-snow mix could turn completely to snow between midnight and 3 a.m. The low will dip to around 28.

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Despite the rather mild winter weather, the fourth annual Polar Bear Plunge miniature golf tournament will be going on.

Billed as "Golfing in the Snow," the event will kick off at 10 a.m. at Adventure Landing on Sheridan Drive in the Town of Tonawanda. The cost to participate in the tournament is $5 and includes two rounds on the Frontier Course, the opportunity to practice for an hour beginning at 9 a.m. and a chance to participate in a raffle with prizes donated from local businesses.

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The Year of the Black Water Dragon will be ushered in today as the University at Buffalo Confucius Institute and the Chinese Club of Western New York host a Chinese New Year celebration, full of color and music.

The festivities are scheduled from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre in the UB Center for the Arts on the North Campus. A dinner banquet featuring traditional Chinese New Year's delicacies along with entertainment will follow from 6 to 9:30 tonight at Temple Beth Am, 4660 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville. Tickets to the dinner are $30 for adults and $10 for children under six.

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The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will honor a Grand Island resident who battles cystic fibrosis and local physician committed to finding a cure for the disease when the foundation holds its annual Breath of Life Gala from 6 to 11 tonight at the Shea's Performing Arts Center.

Ashley Fabio, 23, an employee of Suburban Dialysis, will receive the "Katie's Courage Award," named in memory of Katie Ozog, who lost her 22-year battle with cystic fibrosis in June 2003.

Dr. Jack Sharp, assistant director of the Cystic Fibrosis Care Center at Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo, will be awarded the foundation's "Commitment to a Cure Award." Sharp has been a key ambassador in assisting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in the spreading the word about the disease and promoting research developments.

Cystic fibrosis is a complex, genetic disease causes the body to produce abnormally thick, sticky mucus, which clogs a patient's airways, leading to chronic lung infections. It affects about 30,000 children and adults in the U.S.

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Crime sleuths will get a chance to flex their investigative skills with the opening of a new exhibit at the Buffalo Museum of Science.

"CSI: Experience," which opens to the general public today, is modeled after the popular CBS television series. The traveling exhibit highlights the process of scientific inquiry and real forensic investigation techniques used to solve crimes as represented by three realistically staged crime scenes at the museum. The first involves a car that crashed into a home. The second reveals a body left near a dumpster and the third, the skeletal remains of a body left in the desert.

Visitors will be encouraged to explore state-of-the-at technology used in forensic analysis in two separate crime labs that are part of the exhibit in order to trace vehicle tracks, clothing fibers, paint chips and even insects found at the crime scenes.

The exhibit runs through April 29.

citydesk@buffnews.comnull