First Alert Weather: Wind eases tonight, Yellow Alert for strong winds Monday

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — The gustiest winds from today will ease tonight. Most of the strongest winds were west of Rochester, but most of our area clocked wind gusts at 40-45 mph Thursday afternoon. We’ll get another round of potentially stronger winds early next week. More on that in a moment. Temperatures will plunge back behind a strong cold front, dropping us from the lower to mid 50s on Thursday, into the 30s for Friday. With that, we’ll see a minor lake response tonight, with showers transitioning over to some snow showers by morning, but little to no accumulation is expected. Any flakes end early Friday, with some sun returning. Temperatures will hold in the mid 30s for highs.

The weekend: Saturday will feature a few rain or wet snow showers, but nothing that should prohibit outdoor plans, if you have some. Sunday will be turning breezy/windy and milder with highs topping out in the 40s. Temperatures should rise through the 40s Sunday night into Monday morning ahead of a strong storm system that may bring damaging winds on Monday.

Yellow Alert Monday: Monday starts off quite mild, with highs in the 50s, but temperatures should plunge through the 30s by late afternoon and evening. With the drop in temperatures, winds will pick up significantly. Some gusts may reach 50-55 mph, especially west of Rochester, along the Thruway corridor to Buffalo. Some power outages are possible. Weather may also impact the Bills game in Orchard Park Monday night. Gusty winds will still be around, and lake effect snow will be picking up. Keep an eye on this forecast, especially if you plan on heading to Buffalo for the game.

After that, some lake flakes will linger into Tuesday, with another chance for an area-wide light snow by Wednesday. Stay tuned, as we continue in this very active weather pattern!

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