Lull Friday before Weekend wind, rain storm

Quiet Friday Weather

Friday will be a quiet day in the Finger Lakes, even as clouds and some wind from Thursday’s weather system linger in the area.

The wind should gradually lessen through the day and will not be too noticeable for most.

The wind will be from the northwest most of the day, but will gradually swing around to the west before becoming light and variable this evening as high pressure moves overhead.

Low level moisture is leading to some lake enhanced cloud cover this morning. These clouds will slowly break up through the morning as dry air works in.

However, mid and high level clouds are already streaming eastward from the Great Lakes and will move in by the afternoon.

Temperatures will be cool today, with highs mostly in the upper 30s to near 40 degrees. The temperature will take a quick dip into the low 30s this evening before rising slightly overnight.

Weekend Wind

A classic set up for strong winds will unfold across the region this weekend. The wind, not rain or snow, will be the biggest story with this next storm system.

A strengthening area of low pressure will track northeast across southern Ontario, very near to Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. This is the type of scenario that typically brings the strongest winds to our region outside of thunderstorms, tropical systems, and the occasional nor’easter.

To start, the wind will not be too strong for most of Saturday. Wind gusts will remain below 30 mph Saturday morning and will build to about 35 mph during the afternoon.

Warmer air will start to stream north Saturday evening as the low draws closer, increasing winds gusts to 40-50 mph Saturday night from the south.

A cold front will change the wind direction to the northwest by Sunday morning. After a brief decrease in wind early in the morning, the wind will howl once more later Sunday morning and throughout the afternoon.

Widespread wind gusts to 50 mph will be possible, with some even higher gusts over higher elevations.

Gusts to 40 mph will continue through Sunday night and much of Monday before the wind finally begins to slacken.

What About Rain & Snow?

This storm system will have plenty of precipitation to contend with as well.

Rain will start to move into the Finger Lakes early Saturday morning, spreading from southwest to northeast.

The rain may not be a steady, constant rain, but waves of widespread rain with plenty of showers between will be a constant presence throughout Saturday and Saturday night.

A few rumbles of thunder may even be possible Saturday evening as temperatures rise into the upper 40s.

On the back side of the system, it will be a race between the cold air and the precipitation pulling away. The rain should turn to snow at least briefly for most areas Sunday morning.

There is some potential for a more prolonged period of snow early Sunday over western New York, where a couple of inches could fall. This seems less likely over the Finger Lakes, though.

Lake effect rain and snow showers will be off and on throughout much of Sunday before consolidating into a more organized snow band Sunday evening.

This band may mostly stay north of Syracuse, impacting only far northern portions of Wayne, Cayuga, and Onondaga counties. However, the band may briefly swing south towards Syracuse, Auburn, or even Cortland early Monday morning before lifting back north and dissipating by Monday afternoon.

The position of the lake effect band will continue to need adjusting through the weekend, so stay tuned. For areas that see the band linger longest, several inches of snow may fall.

Snow off of Lake Erie will stay well south and west of the Finger Lakes.