Albany Wednesday forecast, severe thunderstorms likely today

It turned out to be a pleasant afternoon on Tuesday at the Cohoes Falls.                           Photo by Brent McGrady

A low pressure system will drop into our region from the Great Lakes today, resulting in scattered showers and thunderstorms. The Storm Prediction Center has placed our entire region in a "Moderate Risk"  for severe weather, and had a mesoscale discussion out this morning stating that a watch was likely for a large area of the Northeast. Some of the storms are expected to produce damaging winds and torrential downpours. Expect watches and warnings to be issued later this afternoon, so please stay alert to this developing weather situation. High temperatures today will be in the mid 80's.

Most of the storms are expected to exit our region by the 10 pm to midnight time frame and skies will become partly cloudy overnight, eventually clearing out by morning. This will set up a rather pleasant day on Thursday. Expect partly sunny skies with temperatures in the upper 70's to lower 80's, with comfortable humidity levels as the dew point temperature drops throughout the day. The only fly in the ointment on Thursday will be a rather brisk west wind blowing, occasionally gusting up to 30 mph.

A warm front will approach our region on Friday, bringing a much more humid airmass and chances of showers and thunderstorms for the afternoon and evening. High temperatures on Friday will be in the 80's. A quick peek at the weekend shows a rather hot and humid day on Saturday, with more storm chances in the afternoon, and skies hopefully clearing out by early Sunday afternoon. Temperatures on Saturday will approach 90 degrees and Sunday will be in the low to mid 80's.

Opening day at Saratoga is Friday, and the weather could put a damper on some of the late afternoon activities.  If you are headed out, expect a large crowd with free grandstand admission.  The gates open at 11 am and the first race post time is 1 pm.  Looking ahead, Sunday is the annual hat contest at the track, with some great prizes in store and the hats sure not to disappoint.

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