We have a so-so weekend on deck for Rochester and Western New York. A large storm system affecting areas from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes will slide east giving us a soaker Friday and Friday night with a few lingering showers on Saturday albeit mild. It will dry out with a return to a mix of sun and clouds for Sunday, but cool.

The next 5-6 days will feature more seasonable if not slightly above normal temperatures as the jet stream is more or less zonal across the United States. The jet stream separates cold air to left of the flow from warm air to the right…. usually colder north, warmer south. In zonal patterns, there generally are no large temperature gradients unlike in a ridge/trough pattern. Anyways, that translates to near averages temperatures for this time of the year. Taking a gander at Halloween weekend, the pattern develops a large trough in the mid west, brushing our neck of the woods indicating a surge of cold air southward. We’ll have to keep tabs on this as Halloween trick-or-treaters could be hiking through a few inches of snow.

Just a side note here, my recent posts have not featured detail forecasts for which I apologize for. I’ve been a bit tied up with work and school (currently continuing my education as I await to begin a career). This may be the trend over the next few weeks or so, but if there is something meteorologically significant to discuss, I will find the time to provide in depth forecasts.