


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Buffalo, NY
Issued by NWS Buffalo, NY
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061 FXUS61 KBUF 311727 AFDBUF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Buffalo NY 127 PM EDT Sun Aug 31 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Expect an extended period of dry weather for the later half of the Labor Day holiday weekend and into the first half of the week, as surface high pressure dominates overhead of the Great Lakes. Cool nights, will give way to mostly sunny and warm afternoons, as there will be a day to day warming trend through the early portions of the week. The next chance of rain will arrive in the later half of the week with a cold frontal passage. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... Latest GOES satellite shows mostly clear skies across much of western NY outside of diurnal fair weather cumulus development. WV imagery highlights a dry airmass overhead as surface high pressure remains positioned over much of the Great Lakes region this weekend. Afternoon highs for Sunday have climbed around 70 degF so far with a few warmer spots expected to climb into the upper 70s, such as near Dansville later this afternoon. Overnight temperatures will not be as cool as the past few nights, however 850mb temps around 10 degC along with efficient radiation cooling will still support lows around 50 and into the 40s along the higher terrain. Dry weather will continue into Monday as surface high pressure remains over the area, but begins to slide to our east over the northeast CONUS. The gradual day to day warmup will continue as afternoon highs will be in the mid to upper 70s for most. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... On Tuesday high pressure draped from the mid-Atlantic states to New England will only slowly drift to the east coast Meanwhile broad/ weak upper level troughing will remain in place aloft...with its axis draped across central New York. Along and especially to the east of this axis...the combination of somewhat better moisture and diurnal heating could potentially lead to the development of some isolated to widely scattered convection Tuesday afternoon. For our area the best chances of this will be found across the North Country...though it should be noted that some of the shorter-term guidance continues to expand this potential a bit further westward. Any convection that forms should then die out fairly quickly with the loss of heating Tuesday evening...with fair dry weather otherwise anticipated through Tuesday night. Wednesday and Wednesday night the surface high will drift out into the western Atlantic. Meanwhile aloft the initial upper trough will eject out across Quebec...while a second and much deeper trough digs from the Canadian Prairies to the Upper Great Lakes...with its attendant surface low pushing its trailing cold front into the central Great Lakes by the end of the period. The guidance suite continues to slow the progression of this next system such that our area will likely remain more under the influence of ridging and therefore largely dry through most if not all of Wednesday night... with just a lower-end chance of showers reaching far WNY late in the period. Otherwise...gradual warm advection/airmass modification will allow temperatures to climb back to right around or a little above normal by midweek...with an increasing southerly downslope flow out ahead of the latter system then ensuring a mild to moderately warm Wednesday night. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... Thursday through Saturday deepening upper-level troughing will once again overspread the Great Lakes and Northeast...with at least some semblance of this then remaining across our region through Sunday. Meanwhile at the surface...its attendant/elongated surface low and at least one cold front will make their way east and across our region...with forcing and moisture return along/ahead of these still looking sufficient for another round of fairly widespread showers... and perhaps a couple embedded thunderstorms depending upon its timing. Speaking of which...the various guidance packages continue to exhibit a fair amount of spread with respect to the timing of this next system...with this likely to be a function of just how much phasing occurs with a possible southern stream trough/surface wave. This results in an envelope of possibilities (albeit somewhat narrower than seen yesterday) ranging from Thursday/ Thursday night on the fast end to Friday/Friday night on the slow end...with the consensus currently lying somewhere in the later Thursday/Thursday night time frame. Have continued to place the highest PoPs (categorical) in the latter with this package. In the wake of the cold front...the arrival of a much cooler airmass and general cyclonic flow will eventually result in the potential for some more lake effect rain showers downwind of the lakes. The exact timing of these remains in question due to lingering uncertainty in the timing of the main cold front and the potential for a period of low-level ridging/drying aloft in its wake...though in general the best chances of this look to come Friday night into Saturday...with the activity then slowly fading Saturday night/ Sunday as ridging and drier air arrive at the lower levels. What is much more certain is that the gradual warming trend from earlier in the week will be brought to an abrupt halt by the passage of this system...with the much cooler airmass in its wake driving temps back to notably below normal levels by next weekend. && .AVIATION /18Z SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Mainly VFR conditions expected across area terminals through the forecast period with mostly clear skies this afternoon across western NY outside of FEW daytime fair weather cumulus. Localized valley fog will develop once again early Monday morning with light winds and clear skies across the Southern Tier near KJHW as well as in north-central NY near KART. Brief period of IFR visibility will be possible through mid-morning. Clear and calm weather will continue into Monday as high pressure remains over the area. Outlook... Monday Night through Wednesday...Mainly VFR. Local IFR in river valley fog each late night and morning across the Southern Tier. Thursday...MVFR with rain showers and gusty winds along a cold frontal passage. Friday...Mainly VFR with lingering rain showers. && .MARINE... High pressure settling over the eastern Great Lakes for the remainder of the holiday weekend with light winds and flat wave action. && .BUF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NY...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...EAJ NEAR TERM...Brothers SHORT TERM...JJR LONG TERM...JJR AVIATION...Brothers MARINE...Brothers/EAJ