Not a Bad Afternoon

Written by John DiPasquale:

After a good soaking of about half an inch to around an inch last night & early this morning from a pre-frontal trough, the rest of today should be pretty uneventful. There may be a passing shower or two, but for the most part it will be dry for the remainder of this Thursday. The cold front has moved through, & as a result of this temperatures should not move any higher & will hover between 75 & 80 for most of the afternoon before falling a bit late.

The cooler air mass will pour in from the north tonight on an eventual north-northeast flow, which will likely produce a few spotty showers & sprinkles right into the start of our Friday. However, we should dry the lower levels of the atmosphere out somewhat as the day progresses which will lead to some sun developing for all. Highs on our Friday will be a bit on the cool side.

The weekend will begin nice with sun & highs near 80, but all the while hurricane Irene will be churning up the east coast & likely hammering the Outer Banks of North Carolina with wind, rain & a big time storm surge. Latest indications are that Irene will likely make her first landfall as a major category 3 storm Saturday across the Outer Banks of N.C., & then slide up along the Mid-Atlantic coast Saturday night & early Sunday before making her second landfall somewhere between around NYC & Rhode Island as a category 2 or maybe even a major hurricane (category 3) on Sunday. If this forecast track is realized the end result would be catastrophic for the big cities in the northeast, especially for NYC. Here in WNY it appears we still will be on the western fringes of this beast with just some wind, clouds & a couple of afternoon showers possible across the Finger Lakes Sunday. Stay tuned to News 8 over the next few days to find out the latest with regards to Irene's impacts on the northeast & WNY. If Irene takes a more westerly track we will feel a greater impact & vice versa with a more easterly track. We'll see...

Have a great day everyone!