Fair weather for the Eclipse followed by strong storms Tuesday

Finger Lakes Eclipse Forecast

Eclipse viewers should have ample opportunity to watch the eclipse this afternoon, though there will be a few clouds to contend with.

A disturbance is passing by the Finger Lakes Monday morning. A mix of sun and clouds have moved in and there are even a couple of showers across the western Southern Tier.

I am expecting the showers to dissipate during the mid-morning hours and much of the cloud cover to move east by midday.

This should leave fair viewing conditions for the Eclipse this afternoon.

There should be ample breaks in the cloud cover to see the Eclipse. There will be some high, thin cirrus and fair weather cumulus clouds, however. These may briefly obscure the sun from time to time, but should not be too problematic.

Temperatures will be very warm today. By the time the Eclipse starts early this afternoon, temperatures should be pushing through the low 80s and into the mid 80s. The temperature will probably fall a degree or two as 70% of the sun becomes blocked by the moon. After the Eclipse ends just before 4 pm, temperatures should jump back up and top out in the middle 80s.

Steamy Weather Leads to Thunderstorms Tuesday

Temperatures this evening will be slow to drop as a south wind continues to transport heat and humidity north. Morning lows Tuesday will barely drop below 70 degrees.

Low pressure will press east into Ontario with a strong cold front extending to the southwest of the low.

Showers and thunderstorms will be scattered about the Finger Lakes as early as Tuesday morning and into the early afternoon. Breaks of sun between showers will help temperatures push into the low and mid 80s once again.

As the cold front moves closer late in the day, thunderstorms may organize into one or two squall lines of strong thunderstorms. The timing of these storms is uncertain at this point and could arrive as early as 4 or 5 pm or as late as 9 pm.

When the storms do move through, frequent lightning, heavy rain, and damaging winds will be possible. The hail and tornado threats appear to be very minimal at this time.

More details on the severe thunderstorm potential will be posted Tuesday morning.

Running Out of Time for Summer

This cold front will put an abrupt end to the little bit of heat that has moved into the Finger Lakes.

Below normal temperatures are likely for the remainder of August behind this front.

Look for temperatures in the low 70s on Wednesday, with upper 60s Thursday and Friday. Temperatures will slowly climb back into the low 70s this weekend.

Much of next week looks to have similar temperatures near or just slightly above 70 degrees.

During the month of September, the Finger Lakes lose about 8 degrees in the daily average high temperature. The average day in August reaches about 80 degrees, while September has an average high in the low 70s.

This does not mean we are completely done with summery temperatures, but breaking 80 degrees, let alone 90 degrees, will become increasingly difficult in the weeks to come.

The Climate Prediction Center is currently expecting near normal temperatures for September.