Wednesday evening storm summary; more storms Friday?

Numerous areas of damage, some significant, are being reported from Wednesday's severe storms. More strong storms may be possible late Friday. Click to enlarge.
Numerous areas of damage, some significant, are being reported from Wednesday’s severe storms. More strong storms may be possible late Friday. Click to enlarge.

Severe thunderstorms left a path of tree and structure damage across the northern Finger Lakes on Wednesday evening. Numerous severe thunderstorm warnings and two tornado warnings were issued as the storms rolled across the region. Since the storms occurred at night, most of the damage assessment, including whether or not any tornadoes touched down, will begin Thursday morning.

One report in particular is impressive, as a large grain silo was lifted and tossed 300 feet by strong winds in Farmington. This damage occurred during one of the tornado warnings in northern Ontario Country. No word yet from the NWS on whether or not they will be surveying the damage to determine whether or not a tornado touched down, but I would suspect they will be.

If you have damage in an area not represented by one of the icons, please report it to the National Weather Service. The thick black line down the middle of the map shows which office you should report to, with areas north and west of the line in Buffalo’s jurisdiction and areas east and south in Binghamton’s. Of course, I would love to hear your stories as well and will forward along any reports to the NWS as well.

We will get a break in the weather today. The front responsible for all of this is to our south and we should enjoy a pleasant day with some sun and highs in the low to mid 70s.

Hot and humid weather will move back in for Friday. With ample energy for storms and strong winds aloft, severe weather could once again be a threat late Friday into Friday night. I will have more details on that Friday morning as the forecast becomes more certain. The weekend looks nice, but then, yet again, Monday we could be under the gun.

As a side note, events like last night are why I run Finger Lakes Weather and keep it free of charge. I spend many hours each week updating the forecast. With big events like last night, I update constantly for hours on end without any breaks. I do this because I feel it is important and I am passionate about the weather, but as a dad with a full time job outside of the weather and a second small business, time is extremely valuable to me.

If you have found my services useful, I would greatly appreciate your support, either in telling your friends and family about Finger Lakes Weather, or by making a donation to help support my mission of bringing the best weather coverage possible for the Finger Lakes. Thank you in advance for your generosity and support!

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Follow Meteorologist Drew Montreuil:
Meteorologist Drew Montreuil has been forecasting the weather in the Finger Lakes region since 2006 and has degrees in meteorology from SUNY Oswego (B.S. with Honors) and Cornell (M.S.). Drew and his wife have four young boys. When not working or playing with the boys, he is probably out for a run through the countryside.