Spring hits pause: A wet, cool week ahead for Upstate NY

Rain, cool weather this week for Upstate New York

Rain is likely throughout the week for Syracuse, and temperatures will fall steadily.

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Early May weather in Upstate New York will be a retreat into mid-April.

Temperatures and rain will fall through the week, starting with highs in the low 70s today and Tuesday and dropping to the mid 50s Wednesday through Saturday. That trend is likely to continue into early next week, the National Weather Service said.

In addition to cooler temperatures, there’s rain in the forecast for all but one day this work week.

“Thursday is currently looking like the only completely dry day at this time,” the weather service office in Binghamton said.

The first round of rain, which is likely this afternoon and tonight, will be generated by a sweeping cold front that also kicks off a gradual decline of temperatures across Upstate. The best chances for rain are tonight and again Tuesday afternoon and evening.

Thunderstorms with strong winds are possible Tuesday afternoon.

Rain could be heavy, although the storms will move quickly and are unlikely to linger long enough to cause flooding, the weather service said. Total rainfall through Wednesday will be about an inch for most of Upstate, with about 1.25 inches in a band through Central New York and the Mohawk Valley.

The rain will help ease drought and near-drought conditions that have lingered across most of Upstate for the past couple of months. As of last Thursday, the U.S. Drought Monitor’s weekly report said nearly 80% of Upstate New York was either in a moderate drought or just one step away.

Spring rainfall so far hasn’t made up for the low-snow winter in most of Upstate. Syracuse has had 50 inches less snow than in a normal season. Since Jan. 1, Syracuse is about 3 inches short of normal precipitation, which is a combination of rain and water from melted snow.

Rainfall in Upstate New York through Wednesday

An inch or more of rain is expected across Upstate New York through late Wednesday, with the heaviest in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley.

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