Dangerous Winds, Power Outages Likely For Parts of New York State

The weather this week has been much different than the end of January, as we went from bitterly cold temperatures to warmer than normal temperatures for this time of year.

For instance, it was single digits last week and then to 50 degrees on Monday. Wednesday is mid-30's for a high temperature but tomorrow will reach the mid-50's.

When that temperature change happens, chances are you're going to have high winds that accompany the drastic temperature drop. That is happening on Thursday and the winds could be enough to cause power outages and even some dangerous travel.

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The National Weather Service has just upgraded the High Wind Watch to a High Wind Warning for Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Northern Erie, Genesee and Wyoming counties.

Wind gusts in excess of 60 mph with 30-40 mph sustained winds are expected. These winds will start on Thursday afternoon but the warning goes from 7 pm on Thursday to 7 am on Friday, with lingering gusty winds for the remainder of Friday.

Damaging winds could bring down tree branches and cause power outages, with dangerous travel possible for vehicles, especially high-profile vehicles.

There's still a High Wind Watch alert for the Watertown area, off Lake Ontario.

Friday's highs will only be in the 30's, so we're looking at a 20-degree temperature difference from Thursday into Friday.

The good news is that snow is not on the immediate forecast, which is a break from the significant snowfall that many counties have had to deal with since before Thanksgiving.