Mild Mid-Week
A southerly flow of warm air through the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys will supply a warm day to the Finger Lakes today.
There will be a bit more in the way of thin clouds today compared to yesterday, but sunshine will still rule the skies overall.
Light southwest winds will blow through the morning and into the afternoon before turning to the west and northwest for a short time.
Most areas will reach or exceed 65 degrees today, and many of the typically warmer locations that I often discuss will reach the upper 60s. Even higher elevations will be in the low to mid 60s this afternoon.
There will be a gradual increase in thin clouds overnight with light, if not calm winds. Evening temperatures will fall through the 50s and into the 40s, and most areas should drop into the mid and upper 30s by Thursday morning.
Some sunshine will mix with the clouds Thursday morning, but skies will gradually turn overcast as a cold front approaches from the west. There may even be a few showers in western areas before the sun sets.
With the extra cloud cover and winds continuing to be nearly calm, temperatures will not be able to get quite as high as today. Still, most areas will see at least 60 degrees, and the valleys of the Southern Tier should be in the mid 60s.
Areas north of I-90 will be the least likely to reach 60 degrees as a cool lake breeze off Lake Ontario sets up in the otherwise calm environment.
Rain showers will spread into the area Thursday night. The rain will be off and on and most areas should see well under a quarter inch of precipitation. With the rain, nighttime temperatures will stick to the 40s.
Decreasing Temperatures
It is looking increasingly likely that the rain will move out by sunrise on Friday, leaving a cooler, cloudy, but mainly dry day.
The best chance for a shower or some drizzle will be early in the morning. The best chance for sunshine will come towards the end of the day.
A steady north-northwest wind will blow, knocking temperatures back. Hilltops and areas near Lake Ontario will stick to the upper 40s, but most other areas should be near or slightly above 50 degrees. Mid 50s are possible in the valleys of the Southern Tier, and perhaps in the Syracuse metro area.
The temperature will not change much for Saturday afternoon, though the morning will start a bit cooler in the mid 30s.
Saturday will have a mix of sun and clouds, and perhaps a few stray showers popping up.
There will be a better chance for rain on Sunday as another cold front moves through. Like the rain Thursday night, this should be rather quick and insignificant.
Highs on Sunday will be in the mid 40s. Nighttime temperatures will then drop to near 30 degrees with a few lake effect snow showers developing.
Scattered snow showers will persist both Monday and Tuesday, though accumulations look very limited. Highs on Monday will be in the upper 30s with mid 30s on Tuesday.
Temperatures should start to turn around after that, but it may be tough to get daytime highs over 50 degrees at any point next week. However, the spread on the models is quite large beyond next Thursday, so it remains too early to say much definitely about the final 10 days or so of March.
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.
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