First Alert Weather: Good viewing for the lunar eclipse Friday morning

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Luck wasn’t on our side a year ago for the total solar eclipse, when clouds moved in, but that won’t be the case for the total lunar eclipse taking place very early Friday morning. The partial eclipse gets underway just after 1am Friday. Totality begins around 2:30am, and ends around 3:30am. So, we’ll get an hour of time when the moon is blocked out by the earth’s shadow, giving the moon a deep red hue. As far as the clouds are concerned, we’ll see a mainly clear sky with just some high clouds at times. If you want to head outside to check it out, temperatures will bottom out in the lower 30s.

Friday will be a beautiful, spring-like day, with highs well into the upper 60s and even lower 70s away from Lake Ontario under a mostly sunny sky. The wind will be light enough that a cooling lake breeze will likely develop, keeping lakeshore communities in the 50s. Still, a nice late winter day across the Rochester region. Weather also looks good for Saturday and the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Temperatures will peak once again in the mid to upper 60s, with increasing clouds and a balmy breeze. We may see a few showers working in, but likely not until later in the afternoon, keeping the parade dry. We’ll let you know if that changes at all.

Sunday will be turning wet with periods of rain and some thunder possible. Temperatures will peak in the 60s before falling back quickly following a cold front. Monday will hold in the lower 40s, but we’ll warm quickly again by Tuesday and the middle of next week.