Christmas Weekend Weather
The holiday weekend is upon us, meaning many will be traveling about the region. Thankfully, there will be little to worry about from the weather.
Skies will be a mix of sun and clouds today, though there should be a gradual increase in cloud cover and a decrease in available sunshine. No rain or snow will fall from any of these clouds, though.
High pressure is centered just north of New York this morning and will scoot off to the east today. As this happens, our winds, light through they are, will turn from the east to the southeast, and by this evening, to the south.
Today will not be as chilly as yesterday, despite the cool start. The warmest temperatures will be found in the broad valleys from Elmira to Dansville and into the Genesee Valley, where highs will be around or just over 40 degrees. The rest of the region will see mid and upper 30s.
As south winds take over tonight, clouds will continue to increase and thicken. This will keep overnight lows to the upper 20s and low 30s.
Saturday will be mostly cloudy throughout the day. During the latter half of the afternoon, some scattered rain showers will move from west to east through the region. This will continue into the evening and overnight.
Temperatures will peak just before this happens, with upper 30s in higher terrain, and temperatures near or slightly above 40 degrees elsewhere. After sunset, temperatures will drop a few degrees. This may be enough for a little wet snow or some sleet to mix in over isolated higher elevations. No accumulation is expected.
Sunday will start with temperatures still in the mid and upper 30s with a few lingering rain showers early on. Most of the day will be cloudy with nothing more than a stray spit of drizzle. Southerly winds will continue to add to our afternoon highs, with many areas at or above 45 degrees.
The showers we see in our region this weekend will be just about the only precipitation east of the Mississippi River. Travel, therefore, should be easy going far beyond the Finger Lakes.
Warm Christmas Week
For Christmas Day on Monday, temperatures will only continue to rise with light south-southeast winds locked in place.
Morning lows will be in the mid and upper 30s while afternoon highs reach the upper 40s and low 50s. Skies will be mostly cloudy, though some peeks of the sun will also be possible.
Monday night will be even warmer, with most areas staying near or above 40 degrees. Tuesday will again top out around 50 degrees, though it will be cloudier with some evening rain showers moving in.
The weather will turn more active thereafter. Wednesday, while still warm, will be rainy with on and off showers throughout the day. Morning lows will start well into the 40s and afternoon highs will be near 50 degrees for a third straight day.
Cooler air will start to slowly build in later in the week, with highs on Thursday sticking closer to 40 degrees. Some of the rain showers still in the area may turn to snow during the latter parts of the day and especially Thursday night. There seems to be little chance for significant snowfall from this system.
By Friday, lake effect will take over with scattered snow showers. It is too early to tell what sort of accumulations, if any, will result.
Temperatures will stabilize near average in the low and mid 30s for the final days of 2023 and the first bit of 2024. By the middle or end of next week, however, the models are favoring a slightly cooler pattern, with highs mostly showing in the upper 20s at this early stage.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas
There will be no blog post Monday morning due to the Christmas holiday. I may post a quick update on Saturday or Sunday, but I may also get too busy and not get around to it, given that the weather will be very low-impact.
As always, the zip-code forecasts online and on the >mobile app will be updated daily, so you can always get my latest forecast details throughout the holiday.
Have a safe, happy, and healthy weekend! I’ll be back on my regular schedule Tuesday morning.
More Information:
» Finger Lakes Weather Radar
» Zip Code Forecasts
» Get the FLX Weather Mobile App
This graphic represents an average over the entire Finger Lakes region. Localized variations should be expected.
