My eye this morning is on the radar to the west — showers are already pushing toward the Finger Lakes from western New York, and the day is going to feel noticeably different from the quiet stretch we’ve had. Geneva is sitting at 60° under partly cloudy skies with a light south breeze and humidity at 83 percent, which tells the story: moisture is in place, and it’s ready to work.
The NWS Buffalo office is tracking two rounds of weather today. The first arrives this morning as a weak disturbance pushes east, bringing scattered showers from west to east across the region. Corning and Elmira, already overcast at 57° and 58° respectively, are first in line. That initial round may keep instability in check, but a cold frontal passage this afternoon and evening brings a second, more energetic round of showers with embedded thunderstorms possible. Primary hazards with any stronger cells are damaging winds and large hail. An isolated tornado can’t be ruled out across the southern tier, though the greatest severe risk sits to the west of the Finger Lakes. Keep that in mind through the afternoon. Highs top out near 71° in Geneva, 75° in Ithaca and Watkins Glen. Overnight, the front clears through, lows drop to the upper 50s.
The good news: the IMSA WeatherTech weekend at Watkins Glen International looks largely cooperative. Friday brings a small drizzle chance as teams arrive for practice and qualifying — nothing that should disrupt on-track activity — with highs climbing to 77°. Saturday and Sunday clear out further ahead of race day, with Sunday’s Six Hours of The Glen shaping up to be mainly clear at 80°. Traffic on Route 14 will be building by Friday afternoon, so plan accordingly. Beyond race weekend, a warming trend carries into next week — Monday reaches 86°, Tuesday and Wednesday push into the low 90s with a thunderstorm chance returning by mid-week.
Weather Center forecast for the Finger Lakes region. Sourced from NWS, Open-Meteo, NWS Area Forecast Discussion, and USGS stream-flow data. Updated 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM ET.