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ITHACA, N.Y. — It’s a temperature roller-coaster this week as we welcome the start of astronomical spring on Thursday. High temps will vary from upper 60s to upper 30s, rising and falling to such highs and low at least twice over the next seven days. However, apart from today and some showers Thursday, it’s also going to be fairly dry. The primary weather concern remains strong winds and thunderstorms today, while the rest of the week will be minimally disruptive for Tompkins County.Latest SPC outlook upgrades a portion of our area to a Slight Risk (Level 2 of 5) later today. Main timing looks to be 2-8 PM for severe storms. The greatest threat will be strong, damaging wind gusts; with and out ahead of these potential severe storms https://t.co/UQPxyLXnLM pic.twitter.com/caBrCgagfK— NWS Binghamton (@NWSBinghamton) March 16, 2025 Your Weekly WeatherA powerful storm system that has produced severe thunderstorms and deadly tornadoes across much of the South the past two days will be moving northeastward across Michigan and into Canada later today. Ahead of the counterclockwise spinning low, temperatures are well above normal for mid-March, with morning temps already popping into the 60+ F range in and around Tompkins County. However, if you were planning to take advantage of that by heading outdoors, you’ll want to have an umbrella handy, as rain begins to move into the area ahead of the low pressure core. The chance for leading showers will rise through the morning, but certainly the 12 PM to sunset period looks fairly wet (2-6 PM especially), with periods of moderate rain, and even some embedded non-severe thunderstorms – rainfall amounts will be in the 0.50-1.00″ range. The winds will also be gusting strongly from the south, 15-25 MPH with gusts up to 40 MPH. Highs today will top out near 70.Lighter showers will continue through Sunday night as the low passes Ithaca’s longitude well to the north, and winds turn and become northwesterly. While still cloudy and damp, that will allow temperatures to slide overnight, to lows in the upper 30s by sunrise. New rainfall amounts will be <0.1″.The frontal trough of the low will be well to the east of Tompkins County by Monday morning, but it will take some time for the cloud cover to clear out, with only a few breaks of sun working into the area during the PM hours. Highs will be chilly, with a northwest wind and topping out around 40. Monday night will see a few passing clouds as skies clear out overnight, with lows in the upper 20s.High pressure builds in from the SSW for Tuesday. Its stable air mass and clockwise flow will allow for a pleasant day, with mostly sunny skies and highs in the upper 50s. Tuesday night will see a few more clouds build in from the west, but still mostly clear with lows in the upper 30s.Another significant storm system will wind up over the Midwest on Wednesday, if not quite as potent as this weekend’s system. The southerly winds ahead of it will impel temperatures higher Wednesday, with partly cloudy skies and highs in the upper 60s. Wednesday night will host partly cloudy skies and breezy south winds, with a few leading showers working into the region by sunrise. Lows will be in the mid to upper 40s.Thursday is the first day of astronomical spring, and it will be eventful as that low pressure core passes Ithaca’s longitude to the north. Expect cloudy skies with scattered rain showers throughout the day, and highs in the upper 50s. Winds turn and become northwesterly around sunset Thursday as showers taper off, and breezy conditions with partial clearing will allow temperatures to slide back to lows in the upper 20s.Friday will be a drier day, but a colder one as the atmosphere stabilizes. Plan for partly cloudy skies and highs only in the upper 30s. Friday night will be partly cloudy with lows in the upper 20s.As a sort of meteorological wash/rinse/repeat, high pressure builds in from the SSW once again for Saturday. This time around, temperatures only make it into the lower 50s for Saturday, with partly cloudy skies. Sunday will see a few more clouds with highs in the mid to upper 50s. A weak shortwave may produce a few showers Sunday, but overall impacts look to be minor at this time.Graphics courtesy of the NOAA Climate Prediction Center.Extended OutlookLooking towards the end of March, the large-scale pattern is shaping up to have a jet stream ridge over the Western United States, and a trough over the east. The air powering the ridge isn’t particularly hot, and the air entering the trough is even less abnormally cold. The bigger impact locally will be having the poleward branch of the trough moving northward across the East Coast, so that will be the prevailing storm track next week, ripe for impactful coastal systems if not necessarily snowmakers. In sum, near-normal temps and a wetter-than-normal period expected for Tompkins County to close out March.The post A Stormy Sunday, but a drier week ahead appeared first on The Ithaca Voice.First published by The Ithaca Voice.