First Alert Weather: Lilacs are on schedule for a blooming festival

ROCHESTER, N.Y. We are one week away from the 125th Rochester Lilac Festival.

The festival is expected to kick off next Friday, May 12, at 10:30 a.m. at Highland Park. Also, the festival returns to the original 10-day format, which means it will be running from May 12 to May 21. With that many are wondering how the main attraction, the lilacs, are doing ahead of the festival.

News10NBC spoke with Mark Quinn, the superintendent of horticulture in Rochester, and he says that the damp and dreary weather we have had recently will bode well for the lilacs to be in full bloom for the upcoming festival.

“Well one thing they can absolutely expect is lilacs,” Quinn said. “They’re actually looking pretty good. It’s actually kind of nice that we have had this cool weather the last week or so because they really started coming out kind of early and we were like wow, if we get a couple more 90 degree days they’re going to be awfully early. But right now, the prediction is pretty good. We are going to have good lilacs during the festival.”

It is also a good thing we are not expecting any big-time heat through the next week here in Western New York, as that would cause the lilac’s bloom to last much shorter.

“Looking right now, dry weather is fine,” Quinn said. “The rain won’t hurt them either really. But I mean if you get rain and then really warm weather they tend to burn out a little quicker. Typically when they burn, they burn for at least a week. Again, it takes a while for the bloom. The bloom will last a long time if it’s cool. The bloom will last less time if it’s hot of course.”

Looking at the weather for next week, it does look seasonable. Afternoon highs in the mid and upper 60s with a couple of chances for a shower or two, but nothing like what we have seen the past couple of weeks. Make sure you stick with the First Alert Weather Team throughout the next week and through the festival for updates on the weather conditions for the festival.