Strong winds forecast

Downed trees and outages possible

The National Weather Service in Albany issued a wind advisory for the Capital Region beginning noon Friday, with winds expected between 15 and 30 mph, and as high as 50 mph in Schenectady, Fulton and Montgomery counties and points south.

Rain was expected to move in after midnight early Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Albany. Thunderstorms are expected to move in between noon and 4 p.m.

“We’ll see rain persist through the day and ending in the evening hours on Friday before 7 p.m.,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Andrei Evbuoma.

The temperature hit 67 degrees in Albany just after 3:30 p.m. Thursday. The average high is 49 degrees, making temperatures unseasonably warm, Evbuoma said.

“We’ll see another mild night and another mild day (Friday),” Evbuoma said.

The wind advisory is expected to be in place until midnight Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

A second rain system is forecast to enter the region on Sunday, and a third on Wednesday or Thursday next week.

Winds are forecast to reach as high as 60 mph in western New York and the Finger Lakes regions starting Friday, where Gov.

Andrew M. Cuomo directed state agencies on Thursday to prepare emergency response assets for potential lakeshore flooding along Lake Erie and in the North Country through Saturday.

High winds could potentially cause downed trees and power lines that could lead to widespread power outages, as well as dangerous travel conditions.

Potentially significant lake shore flooding along Lake Erie is possible due to a rapid rise in water levels through Friday afternoon, according to the governor’s office. In the North Country, a combination of rainfall, warm temperatures and snowmelt in higher elevations could cause flooding in some locations Friday into late Saturday.