October starts sunny and mild in the Finger Lakes

Turning Steadily Warmer

Temperatures in the Finger Lakes may be chilly again early Monday morning, but will steadily climb during the first half of the week.

High pressure centered over eastern Canada is responsible both for the cold, at times frosty weather Monday morning and the coming warm up.

While this high is centered well north of the region, it extends south over the Finger Lakes, resulting in clear skies and calm winds. With the lack of any southerly flow, temperatures again are starting quite chilly with many areas in the 30s.

Sunny skies will quickly warm those temperatures though, with highs this afternoon ranging from the upper 60s to the low 70s.

The high pressure will begin to travel southeast today and will end up off the coast of the Mid-Atlantic by Wednesday. This will result in an increasing southerly flow on the backside of the high, pushing our temperatures up.

Morning lows Tuesday will not be nearly as cold with a few mid 40s in the Southern Tier, but upper 40s and low 50s across the rest of the area. Highs Tuesday afternoon will then climb into the low to upper 70s.

Wednesday will be the warmest day of the week, with more sunny skies and south winds. Many parts of the Finger Lakes will reach into the low 80s with upper 70s across the higher elevations away from the lakes.

Maybe Some Late Week Rain

Rain has been hard to come by for the last two months in the Finger Lakes. The lack of rain is starting to be a bit troublesome, and some parts of the area have even been included on the most recent drought report under the D0- Abnormally Dry classification.

During the first part of the week, there will be no chances for rain. A cold front will pass through the Finger Lakes Wednesday night and could bring some showers to the region, but overall does not look to be a huge rain producer.

Friday, however, holds some hope for steady rain in the Finger Lakes.

After the cold front passes through on Thursday, it will stall out just south of the area. An area of low pressure may then move along the front, possibly bringing some steady rain to the area.

The details are still uncertain, including how strong the low is, how big of an area of rain will accompany the low, and the position of the front. All of these are important considerations and could be the difference between as much as an inch of rain, or another miss.

A couple more storm systems will possibly bring some rain to the area off and on through the middle of next week. However, beyond that, the longer range forecasts are calling for more below normal precipitation right through most of October.