First Alert Weather: Air Quality Alerts continue into Thursday

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Our thickest smoke and poorest air quality occurred Wednesday morning. And while we’re seeing some improvements, we’re not in the clear yet.

A northerly wind will continue to direct wildfire smoke into our region on Thursday, and at least the first part of Friday. Air quality is still expected to be in the “unhealthy” category, which means you should try to limit time outdoors, and limit strenuous outdoor activities. A wind shift on Friday will help to direct the smoke elsewhere, and NOT into western New York and the Finger lakes.

So, if you’re wondering if you need to change any weekend plans due to air quality issues — the answer is no. We should be breathing much cleaner air.

Aside from the smoke, we’ll actually see clouds thickening up Wednesday night and through the end of the week — with occasional showers on Thursday, and a better chance for scattered showers on Friday. The weekend looks pretty good, with just a few isolated pop up afternoon showers east and south of Rochester on Saturday.

Sunday’s weather is trending up. Rain is still expected to move in, but it may hold off for much of the day, leaving plenty of dry time and temperatures warming into the upper 70s. Our highest rain chances will arrive on Monday.