Near record heat, wind in Rochester on Sunday

Despite a few light showers early in the morning and cloudy skies, Rochester came within two degrees of the record high temperature Sunday afternoon. At the official observation time of four o’clock, the airport recorded a temperature of 60 degrees. The current record is 63 degrees and was set forty years ago in 1984.

Occasional showers cannot be ruled out for the rest of the evening as low pressure and the associated cold front move in from the southwest. As low pressure sets in, winds are expected to continue to increase from west to east overnight. Wind gusts peaked in the low 30 mph range during the afternoon, but near Lake Erie wind gusts will peak in the 50 mph range late Sunday.

As a result, a high wind warning will go into effect for areas west of Rochester at 10 p.m. Sunday. Included in this warning are Orleans and Genesee counties. Wind advisories are in effect for Monroe and Wyoming counties Monday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Here’s a look at some peak gusts forecast across Western New York Sunday night into Monday morning. The strongest gusts are expected to occur in the very early hours of the night on Monday.

Officially, Monday’s high will be reached shortly after midnight as the cold front will not pass until the early hours of the morning. However, winds will quickly move around a well-developed low from the southwest, bringing noticeably cooler air to the region. Monday afternoon will be windy and temperatures will fall back into the 40s. Despite the drop in temperatures, temperatures will still be around ten degrees above normal in the first half of the week.