Yellow Alert Weather: Yellow Alert for strong to severe storms Saturday

Friday was fantastic, but Saturday will be turning stormy. A Yellow Alert is up for Saturday afternoon. If you have plans to go to the air show, the Bills game, or anything else outside, you’ll want to keep a close eye on updates to the Saturday forecast. The potential exists for strong to severe storms for parts of the area. A warm front lifting through overnight will bring a few showers or a storm by early Saturday, but they’re not expected to be severe. After a little morning rain, we expect to see a lull in the activity, with some sun breaking out.

While this may be good to be able to get out for a few hours, it will help to add fuel to the atmosphere and allow some developing thunderstorms to grow strong later in the afternoon. The greatest chance for seeing a severe storm will be between about 2 p.m. through 7 p.m., and especially from Rochester east into the Finger Lakes. Lake Erie may help to stabilize the atmosphere just enough to keep those storm west of Rochester under severe criteria. The main impacts will be straight line damaging winds and large hail. Locally heavy rain will be likely under any storm, but storms should move along, keeping any flood threat low. The atmosphere will also be conducive to some rotating storms, so an isolated tornado, while not likely, isn’t impossible.

Sunday looks much nicer, with mainly dry weather, some sunshine and a fresher breeze. Stay with the First Alert Weather Team for continued updates and any watches or warnings that may be issued.