Mild and Rainy
Mild weather is locked in place across the Finger Lakes with a fairly stagnant weather pattern over the eastern half of the nation.
A large area of low pressure is spinning nearly in place over the central Plains with high pressure over New England. Between these two opposite pressure systems, a broad southerly flow continues across our region, keeping temperatures elevated.
A frontal boundary extends also from the low northeast into the Great Lakes, then southeast into the Mid-Atlantic region. This front will be the focal point for our weather over the next couple of days.
Clouds will be plentiful today, though some early breaks of sun cannot be ruled out. Scattered showers will move in during the midday and afternoon hours. None of the rain should be heavy, but the showers may be widespread for a time.
With the clouds and showers, temperatures will be a touch cooler than yesterday, but still far above the seasonal averages. The best chance for hitting or breaking above 50 degrees will be from Dansville to Rochester, then east along and north of I-90 to Syracuse. Most other lower and mid elevations will see upper 40s while higher terrain tops out in the mid 40s.
Rain showers will continue tonight, increasing and expanding into some steady rain during the predawn hours of Wednesday. Overnight lows will only be down into the low and mid 40s.
Steady rain will likely persist Wednesday morning, gradually becoming spottier for western areas but lingering on well into the afternoon for areas near and east of about Seneca Lake.
In all, most areas will end up in a range between three-quarters of an inch and one and a quarter of an inch of rainfall.
Temperatures Wednesday will be a degree or two warmer today, with more areas hitting 50 degrees and fewer hilly areas sticking to the mid 40s.
Slow Cool Down
By Thursday, the low over the middle of the nation will have dissipated completely while a new, weak low moves northeastward off the Mid-Atlantic and New England coasts. This will reverse the flow of air to a more northerly direction for the end of the week.
There will be a notable lack of cold air in place over eastern Canada, thanks to the persist southerly flow we are currently locked into. Therefore, even as winds change, the temperature will be slow to drop.
Moisture left behind by the frontal boundary will interact with the coastal low to keep scattered showers in the area on Thursday. This rain should be spotty and light. Winds will be light from the north-northeast.
Afternoon highs will be a handful of degrees cooler, with most areas sitting in the mid 40s. A few upper 40s and an isolated high near 50 degrees will be possible in the broad valleys from Dansville to Binghamton, and possibly in the Syracuse metro area.
Scattered showers will linger into Friday, possibly starting to mix with some snow later in the day and especially after sunset. High temperatures will mainly be in the low 40s with some upper 30s mixing in.
Flurries off Lake Ontario will be possible on Saturday. Snow accumulations look minor to non-existent with highs in the mid 30s.
Cloudy but dry weather is expected as we close out 2023 on Sunday and welcome 2024 on Monday. Temperatures will hover in the mid and upper 30s.
The weather looks fairly quiet for the first week of 2024 with near average to just slightly above average temperatures in the 30s.
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.
