Monday brought some scattered severe thunderstorms and beneficial rain to some parts of the Finger Lakes.
Comfortable Weather Tuesday & Wednesday
High pressure is building into the Finger Lakes behind yesterday’s cold front. Sunny skies and comfortable temperatures will be in place for Tuesday and Wednesday before we resume our hot, humid pattern.
Temperatures are starting today in the upper 50s and low 60s. Bright, sunny skies should help the temperature quickly rise through the 60s this morning. By the afternoon, most places will be in the middle 70s, with a few upper 70s showing up across the lake plains from Rochester to Syracuse, as well as in the broad valleys of the Southern Tier. Humidity levels will be low. There will be a gentle but persistent breeze from the northwest. Only a few afternoon clouds are expected, with primarily sunny skies otherwise.
Clear skies will let the temperature drop quickly this evening back into the 60s. Many areas will slip into the 50s tonight, with some mid and even low 50s in the colder, outlying areas. Once the sun comes up Wednesday, the temperature will shoot up once again. Like Tuesday, very few clouds and low humidity are expected. This should help temperatures reach near or just above 80 degrees for most of the Finger Lakes.
Monday July 18, 2016 Severe Thunderstorm Recap
The very nice weather we will enjoy the next two days is courtesy of a strong cold front that moved through yesterday. This front triggered numerous rounds of thunderstorms that persisted from early Monday morning into the late afternoon hours. The severe weather risk was set at low, with a few scattered wind damage reports expected. Hail was considered a lesser threat.
All in all, Monday turned out as expected and was the epitome of a low risk day. There were 7 reports of wind damage across the Finger Lakes from at least three or four separate storm cells. These reports of wind damage were quite scattered, and no single storm had a long history of severe weather production.
There were also a couple reports of small, mostly non severe hail. The size criteria set by the National Weather Service for severe hail is 1″ diameter. There were two hail reports in Oswego County, just outside of the FLX Weather coverage area, that reached 1″. There was also 0.75″ hail in Cortland.
Due to the repeated rounds of thunderstorms, as well as some more widespread rain early in the day, many areas received a decent amount of rain. A significant swath from western New York across the center of the Finger Lakes from Geneseo to Geneva and Penn Yan and into southern Cayuga County received near or over an inch of rain. However, a large portion of the severe drought area of the southern Finger Lakes was missed once again, with amounts generally less than a half or even quarter of an inch.
Looking towards the weekend
Hot and humid weather will be returning to the Finger Lakes before long. Thursday is looking quite uncomfortable, with temperatures near or above 90 degrees and heat index values in the low to mid 90s. Beyond Thursday, the forecast is a bit less certain. There may some chances for thunderstorms on Friday into early Saturday. The nature of these storms, as well as their strength, is a bit unclear still.
Also unclear is just how hot it will get this weekend. We may miss out on the worst of the heat, but it is not certain yet. Temperatures should at least be in the mid and upper 80s this weekend, but there is certainly a chance for hotter temperatures. At this time, Saturday and Sunday look mostly dry, but that could easily change.
