Science behind upcoming warm weather

It’s no secret that this weekend is going to be very warm for this time of year. Although, some of you may also be wondering what is going to cause such a prolonged period of warm air in late September and early October.

High pressure will be stationed over the central US this weekend. Low pressure systems will exist both to our west and east. Both of these are slow-moving systems; the one to our east is the one that gave us measurable rain at Rochester Int’l Airport for nearly a week straight.

This pattern is referred to as an Omega Block. An omega block happens when upper level winds (known as a jet stream) resemble the shape of the Omega symbol in the Greek alphabet. Usually, the low pressure systems are slow-moving, causing the high pressure to move slower as well. This allow for prolonged stretches of warmth and clearer days for communities near the high pressure.

These systems can sometimes be stagnant for over a week, but it is expected to be stagnant over us for about 4-5 days. All of this will allow us to be abnormally warm to start the month of October.