Today was a 50-50 split. The morning was showery and cool, but the afternoon sunny and mild. We have lots more sunshine in the forecast, but some very blustery winds drive cooler air into the region in the wake of the giant Great Lakes storm (see more information beneath the forecast), particularly late tonight into Friday.
Through Tonight: Mostly clear skies and increasingly chilly. Lows range from the low-to-mid 40s in our cooler suburbs to the upper 40s downtown. But more than the temperatures, winds from the west at 10-15 mph gusting to 20-30 mph late at night make it feel cold.
Tomorrow (Friday): It’s mostly sunny with a high near 60, but both the sunshine and the high temperature are a bit deceptive. Winds from the west are sustained at 15-20 mph, gusting to 25-35 mph . So it’s not the most enjoyable day outside and it’s downright cold standing in the shade.
See David Streit’s forecast through early next week. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock.
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Big storm stirs up enormous waves on Lake Erie: The vigorous fall storm that swept from the Rockies through the Great Lakes has generated powerful winds and waves to 10 feet or so over Lake Erie.
New models from @NOAA_GLERL shows wave heights of 10-15 feet will batter the eastern shore of #LakeErie #Buffalo pic.twitter.com/khaV6spt7D
— TJ Pignataro 🌎 (@TJPignataro) November 12, 2015
Buffalo reported gusts to 55 mph as waves battered the shoreline.
Winds in Buffalo are gusting around 55 miles per hour right now. Dave Niedbala sent in this shot from Hamburg Beach. pic.twitter.com/YPzIIu3hWo
— News 4 Buffalo (@news4buffalo) November 12, 2015
The storminess spurred sloshing back and forth of the water over the lake, a phenomenon known as a seiche. As water heights surged on the eastern end of the lake, they plummeted on the west end.
WOW !!! What a seiche on Lake Erie, 7ft. + rise on the east end 6ft.+ drop on the west end !!! pic.twitter.com/CdDoCm6AVL
— Tom Niziol (@TomNiziol) November 12, 2015
Here are some more images of the waves and spray in the vicinity of the lake:
Lake Erie spray. Video credit: @WKBW https://t.co/WqLDFk6E6G pic.twitter.com/LWGwXztHd7
— Tim Ballisty (@IrishEagle) November 12, 2015
You can see some of the Buffalo lakeshore flooding due to #seiche. Photo by Jennifer A. Kinney via @WKBW FB. pic.twitter.com/ldBe5E3Vhd
— Tim Ballisty (@IrishEagle) November 12, 2015
A portion of Erie Basin Marina is under water, as the water level is now even with the sea wall pic.twitter.com/IHUSZjev7j
— Derek Gee (@DerekGeePhoto) November 12, 2015
Finally, check out the late afternoon satellite view of the responsible storm – which has developed an eye-like feature:
The circulation around the backside of this storm will power our gusty winds on Friday.