Victoria E. Freile, and T. Sudore

Democrat and Chronicle

UPDATE:A line of gusty showers will affect Wayne, north central Livingston, eastern Monroe and north central Ontario Counties until 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. Winds could exceed 40 mph with these showers. Locations impacted include Rochester, Greece, Irondequoit, Chili, East Rochester, Webster,

Fairport, Brighton, Gates-North Gates and Ontario.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo has upgraded a wind advisory to a high wind warning for Tuesday. The warning will be in effect from noon until 11 p.m. for Monroe and Genesee counties.

"It's not going to be like the last one," said Weather Service Meteorologist Jim Mitchell, referencing the March 8 windstorm which logged a peak gust of 81 mph. Winds that day toppled trees and utility poles causing power outages for more than 150,000 in the Rochester region.

Mitchell said winds gusts could reach 60 mph, and that sustained winds will remain between 20 and 30 mph.

The main concern isn't simply the gusts, but rather the state of the ground, Mitchell said.

"The ground is so saturated so we're concerned about shallow-rooted trees," including pine trees, blowing over, he said.

Although the warning is in effect for 11 hours, Mitchell said Rochesterians should expect to see peak winds in the late afternoon or early evening.

Scattered showers are also expected in Monroe County before the winds pick up, he said.

Monroe County officials are urging area residents to be careful once winds pick up.

“Knowing what we know from the wind storm in March, it is possible that we will see downed trees and power lines leading to danger for our residents and motorists,” County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo said in a news release. “While we will be monitoring the storm from the County’s Emergency Operations Center, it is important for residents to remain vigilant as these high winds arrive.”

Irondequoit Supervisor Dave Seeley said he and other Irondequoit officials are "always mindful of denser, more established trees in older neighborhoods and areas near the lake." Seeley said he's not aware of any trouble spots that may be holdovers from last month's windstorm, but town crews are prepared to react.

"We're ready and bracing for impact," he said.

Other areas that could be impacted include Niagara, Orleans, Erie, Wyoming, Chautauqua, and Cattaraugus counties.

An advisory is issued when sustained winds are expected to be 40 mph or gusts of 58 mph or higher.

A wind advisory is in effect for Wayne, Ontario and Livingston counties.

A flood watch has also been issued for all of western New York (except for the Southern Tier) Thursday through Saturday afternoon. A flood watch for Wayne County is already in effect through Saturday.

Rochester Gas & Electric and New York State Electric & Gas on Tuesday issued a statement that storm readiness teams prepared crew and equipment in advance of the predicted windstorm. Both companies have also secured additional contractors to ensure crews are ready to respond to any downed power lines and power interruptions that may occur as a result of predicted winds.

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