Damaging Wind Gusts Possible Today

Written by John DiPasquale:

Good morning everyone,

HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY FOR ROCHESTER & POINTS WEST; WIND ADVISORY SOUTH & EAST OF ROCHESTER THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING

The graphic to the left displays wind gusts as of 9 this morning. These gusts will only go up. Toronto's 55 & Niagra Falls 61 mph gust in the last hour will likely be felt here really soon. Tighten down the hatches!

Some strong to severe storms raced through WNY last evening, but now we are going to have to likely contend with some damaging wind gusts across the area late this morning & afternoon. Some gusts could exceed 50 & possibly be up around 60 at times today! So if you are heading out definitely be careful & watch your surroundings. I'm quite sure that there will be some trees coming down along with power lines which will lead to scattered power outages. What I believe is going to make the likelihood of some trees coming down even greater today in the area is the simple fact that it has been so wet this month & the ground is so saturated making the root systems not as secure per the norm. For that reason it will not take as much wind to topple some weaker trees down. Thankfully, though, a lot of the trees do not have leaves to act as sails catching the strong winds, so that should alleviate the problem a little anyways. Either way, be careful out there today. The temperatures will also be tumbling back through the 60s & 50s late this morning & afternoon, so be sure to grab the jacket when heading out this morning because you'll need it later.

Tomorrow will be brisk, chilly & kind of raw with a few showers, possibly mixed with a bit of snow, mainly across the high terrain. Highs on our Friday will only reach the upper 40s & low 50s, but the wind will make it feel colder than that.

The good news comes Saturday with lots of sun, light winds & seasonably mild temperatures! Definitely something to look forward to!