Air quality improves as rain threat rises Friday

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – The smoke has eased, but does it stay that way, and what about the rain chances heading into Friday and the weekend??  Details are below.

How much longer will CNY deal with this smoke?

The haze/smoke compliments of Canadian wildfires continues to impact the region, but thankfully to a much lesser extent to round out the week as expected.  CNY may see a little haze, milkiness to the sky at times heading into Friday and the weekend, especially Saturday, but overall the sky should stay clearer than not. 

We should see less smoke as a whole in the air Friday with the thickest smoke having shifted west into WNY and Ontario Wednesday night and Thursday and it appears staying south and west of CNY through Friday night.  Some of the smoke tries to come back to a certain extent Saturday afternoon and night but should not be nearly as thick or hazardous as it was Tuesday and Wednesday.  Smoke should not be an issue at all on Sunday either.

Cooler, fall-like air sticks around for now

Meanwhile, meteorologically an area of low pressure spinning just off the New England coastline shifts a bit farther west over the next 24 hours, a bit closer to Central New York.  This will ensure us of less smoky, and cool air.

Highs are similar to Thursday on Friday, as readings climb only into the mid to perhaps upper 60s with enough dry time and intervals of sun.

Showers are a bit more numerous to end the week

There’s a better chance at scattered rain showers Friday, which is great news because we really need the rain.

Thursday was the first day the Syracuse airport reported measurable rainfall since May 24th, more than 2 weeks ago.

That said, we do still expect a good amount of dry time in between the showers on Friday.

When will more sun and warmth return?

Looking ahead into the weekend, temperatures should climb back to at least around, or even above average, mid-70s to around 80, again.  A blend of clouds and sunshine and a small chance of a spotty, pop-up shower or two is how we start the weekend, followed by a mainly dry and probably warmer Sunday.

A more substantial rainfall that CNY has been waiting for appears to possibly be on tap late Monday/Monday night into the start of Tuesday next week.  Stay tuned for updates on this potential.

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