High pressure will bring sunny skies, but temperatures will be a touch below normal.
High Pressure Builds Into the FLX
A large area of high pressure from Central Canada is building southeast towards the Finger Lakes today. Skies are clearing this morning as the high pressure takes over, and a sunny day is ahead for the Finger Lakes.
Any clouds that are lingering this morning should burn off well before noon today. Otherwise, the only clouds we will contend with will be some high, thin wisps, which could make for a nice sunset.
Winds ahead of this high pressure system are out of the north, so temperatures will be a bit cooler than they were over the last couple of days. Thankfully, though, the core of the cold air will not make it this far south, nor is the cold as intense as it was last Wednesday when highs were in the 20s.
In fact, high temperatures today will only be a couple of degrees below normal, with most places reaching the mid 40s. There will also be a bit of a breeze, especially over the eastern Finger Lakes. This could make it feel more like the upper 30s to low 40s this afternoon.
Temperatures will drop back into the 30s as the sun sets this evening. Overnight lows should bottom out in the upper 20s.
Looking for the Northern Lights
The Northern Lights are not common at our latitude, but a few times a year, ejections of charged particles from the sun enhance the Northern Lights and push them south.
The past couple of days, Earth has been bombarded by one of these solar storms, but clouds have kept our area from having any chance at seeing the Northern Lights.
Skies tonight should be mostly clear. There may be more of the high, thin cirrus clouds in place, which could reduce the quality of viewing some.
Predicting the position of the Northern Lights is more difficult than predicting most weather phenomenon, and I am certainly no expert in that field. Current forecasts have the solar storm just strong enough for a *chance* of seeing the Northern Lights tonight, but it is far from a certainty or even a likelihood. If I were a betting man, my money would be on there not being any visible in the Finger Lakes tonight.
I will have an update this evening in my audio forecast with the latest projections. Stay tuned.
Next System Rolls in Friday
Thursday may start out sunny, but clouds will be on the increase during the day as the next storm system approaches.
Most of the clouds during the day will be mid and high level clouds, so even as the sky turns overcast, the sun may still shine through a little bit.
One or two rain showers may work into the western Finger Lakes late in the day, but most of the precipitation should hold off until at least Thursday afternoon.
Winds will be light as they shift from the north to the east. With no influx of warm air from these wind directions, temperatures Thursday will again mostly be in the mid 40s.
Rain will start to move in in earnest after midnight and should continue through much of Friday. For those traveling east early Friday, some icy precipitation may fall along the I-88 Corridor.
Some of the rain may come down hard, especially Friday morning. Rain totals by Friday night could range between 1-1.5 inches.
This system should clear out by Saturday morning, with a dry weekend expected.
