Warm air arrives in earnest

Feeling Like Spring

A southerly flow of warm air will develop over the Finger Lakes today and persist until a cold front late Thursday night.

As winds turn more southerly and increase this morning, bright sunny skies will shine through the area. Temperatures will quickly climb from lows around 30.

The wind will increase to around 10 mph by this afternoon. Some clouds will gradually build in from the west, but these look as though they may arrive a bit later than originally expected. That may be enough to add a couple more degrees onto today’s high temperatures.

Many areas will break 60 degrees today with the Rochester area leading the way with mid 60s. Higher elevations to the east of Cayuga Lake are the most likely to end up just shy of 60 degrees.

Temperatures will drop back into the 40s tonight as clouds and south winds persist. This should continue the snowmelt overnight for any areas that still have snow, and the amount of snow cover by Thursday morning should be minimal.

A few isolated and light rain showers will be possible after midnight, possibly lingering into the early morning hours.

Much of Thursday will have a mix of sun and clouds. South winds will continue, and temperatures should be even warmer than today. In fact, areas from Rochester to Seneca Falls have a real shot at hitting 70 degrees.

Most of the remainder of the region will be in the mid and upper 60s, with a few low 60s in higher elevations, again primarily in the east.

Rain showers will move in Thursday evening and continue through the early overnight as a cold front slowly moves in. The precipitation and most of the cloud cover will move south by dawn Friday.

Winds will be from the west on Friday, removing our source of warm air, but not replacing it with anything cold yet. With more sunshine, highs should reach into the low and mid 50s.

Back to Reality

Of course, it is too early for Spring to fully arrive and cooler weather will move back into the region.

Another cold front will drop south Friday evening. Little to no precipitation is expected, but winds will turn to the northwest and increase. The strongest winds will be in the late evening and overnight hours with gusts to 40 mph. A few stray flurries cannot be ruled out.

By Saturday morning, temperatures will be in the upper teens and low 20s. Winds will drop and slowly turn back to a more westerly direction. Ample sunshine is expected after a few early morning clouds.

Afternoon highs will range through the mid and upper 30s. A few areas along the shore of Lake Ontario and in the higher elevations of Central New York may stick to the low 30s.

Temperatures will stay in the mid and upper 20s Saturday night and will make a push upward early Sunday morning. Some areas could break into the 40s before an early afternoon cold front slams the lid down.

With the frontal passage, temperatures will fall back through the 30s during the afternoon, with strong northwest winds again developing. A few hours of 35-45 mph wind gusts are likely before the wind lessens in the evening.

Next week, the main focus will be two weather systems on Tuesday and Friday. Temperatures for both systems are uncertain, so all types of precipitation remain in consideration. The chances for significant wintry weather look low at this time, though.

Outside of these two systems, expect periods of sunshine and typical mid-March temperatures in the 30s and 40s.

More Information:

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This graphic represents an average over the entire Finger Lakes region. Localized variations should be expected.