Quiet, cloudy weather ahead of weekend nor’easter

More Clouds for the Finger Lakes

Low level moisture will continue to be trapped in the Finger Lakes until winds shift late today.

This means another cloudy, chilly day is ahead.

Temperatures this morning are starting out in a typical pattern, with mid and upper 30s in the north with low 30s and a few upper 20s further south.

Almost all the area is precipitation free except a couple of stray showers mostly near and north of Syracuse.

I expect no additional precipitation today as the atmosphere dries in advance of high pressure moving through the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions.

With the wind and clouds, high temperatures will struggle to get much beyond 40 degrees today.

The wind should die down and swing around to the south this evening, resulting in a little sunshine sneaking in before the sun sets.

Skies will become partly cloudy overnight, but the south wind should keep temperatures from falling too far. Expect morning lows Friday to be in the upper 20s across the Southern Tier with low and mid 30s for most other areas.

Weekend Nor’easter Updates

A deck of high clouds will already be moving into the area Friday morning.

These clouds will be out ahead of both low pressure in the Upper Midwest and low pressure across the Gulf of Mexico.

While the Gulf system turns north along the coast, the Midwestern low will linger to the west. The two systems will interact, but not merge.

Friday will be increasingly cloudy but no rain will fall. Temperatures will get a boost as the south wind continues, topping out in the mid and upper 40s.

Rain should arrive from the south during the pre-dawn hours Saturday as the nor’easter continues to strengthen and move north.

It seems increasingly likely that a core of heavy rain will move directly into the Finger Lakes for much of Saturday. Rain amounts between 1-2 inches should be widespread across the area on Saturday.

Along with the rain may come wind, though how the wind fields evolve is less certain. Areas most prone to high winds will be higher terrain in the eastern and southern Finger Lakes. Wind gusts over 40 mph could be possible. This wind will come from the northeast, which is not a wind direction we see too often here.

The heavy rain will push north Saturday night, leaving on and off showers for Sunday. If the low tracks far enough west, the eastern Finger Lakes may even get some dry time Sunday.

Temperatures Saturday should be in the low to perhaps mid 40s. Mid 40s are more likely on Sunday. The chances for snow with this system remain low and I do not expect accumulations in our area.

The confidence with this system is increasing, but even slight changes in the track or strength of the storm could result in significant changes to the forecast. It is not too uncommon to see such adjustments even just 12-36 hours ahead of the storm.

Continue to monitor the forecast you can trust with Finger Lakes Weather.

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