Weather update: Monroe declares emergency, bans trucks from county roads due to winds

Update 12:05 a.m.: The number of Rochester Gas & Electric customers without power sits at 13,647, including 9,385 in Monroe County. Hardest hit areas include portions of Perinton, Pittsford, and Webster.

Update 3:30 p.m.: County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo declared a state emergency for Monroe County. As part of the emergency, Monroe County has issued a commercial travel ban that bars high-profile vehicles — such as tractor-trailers and other large trucks — from county roads through 8 p.m. Truck drivers are advised to find a place to park and avoid travel during the ban. Drivers of smaller vehicles should expect challenging conditions during the evening commute.

UPDATE 3:15 p.m.: The number of Rochester Gas & Electric customers without power jumped to more than 17,000, with about 13,600 of those in Monroe County. Hardest hit areas locally are portions of Greece, Perinton, Ogden, Pittsford and Rochester.

UPDATE 3 p.m.: Monroe County sheriff's deputies reported that high winds in the area caused a tractor-trailer to tip over while on the 6500 block of West Henrietta Road near Martin Road in Henrietta, just before 2 p.m. Sgt. Christopher Rahn said the tractor-trailer struck a utility pole, which apparently caused power outages in the area.

The driver was not injured and the road was temporarily closed between Rush-Henrietta Townline Road and Martin Road to tend to the scene.

Additionally, police closed a section of Interstate 390 southbound in Brighton shortly before 3 p.m. after a tractor-trailer tipped over near Exit 15B. Traffic camera footage shows the truck flipped and blocked all lanes of travel. The state's Department of Transportation traffic alert system reported at 2:40 p.m. that I-590 southbound and I-390 southbound ramps to I-390 were closed until further notice.

UPDATE 2:30 p.m.: The outage toll continues to rise in the Rochester region with nearly 12,000 Rochester Gas & Electric Corp. customers without power as a result of Wednesday's whipping winds. Of those, more than 11,300 customers are withing Monroe County, including more than 2,000 Perinton customers, another 2,000 Chili customers, more than 1,200 Rochester customers and more than 1,100 customers in both Pittsford and Ogden.

UPDATE 2:15 p.m.: A tree toppled onto an unoccupied box truck parked in a lot behind Swillburger, 820 S. Clinton Ave., Rochester, crushing the cab of the vehicle around 12:20 p.m., said Christopher Dunn, who heard the incident. No injuries were reported.

UPDATE 2 p.m.: A 75 mph gust was recorded in Batavia at 12:50 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo. This is the strongest gust noted in our area thus far on Wednesday.

A gust reaching 66 mph was recorded at the Greater Rochester International Airport at 1:11 p.m. A 65 mph gust was recorded in Warsaw, Wyoming County, at 1:30 p.m., according to the Weather Service.

UPDATE 1:15 p.m.: More power outages have been reported, with nearly 10,000 Rochester Gas & Electric customers without power in the Rochester region. More than 9,300 of those customers are located within Monroe County, including more than 1,700 Chili customers,1,500 Perinton customers, 1,100 in Ogden and nearly 1,000 in Pittsford without power.

UPDATE, 12:15 p.m: Several wind gusts have been recorded through the region, including a 62 mph gust at the Greater Rochester International Airport, which was recorded at 10:13 a.m., according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo. The strongest gust recorded in the area this morning was in Batavia, where winds reached 65 mph at 10:05 a.m., said Weather Service Meteorologist Jon Hitchcock.

A 58 mph gust was recorded in Brockport at 11:05 a.m., and a 62 mph gust was logged in South Bristol at 11:15 a.m., he said.

Hitchcock said he expects the strongest winds to move through the area through later afternoon and that winds will likely not settle down until 6 to 7 p.m.

UPDATE, Noon: Outages in the Rochester region are again on the rise, as more than 6,100 Rochester Gas & Electric customers in the area are without power. A majority of those are within Monroe County, including more than 1,600 Brighton customers and nearly 1,500 Gates customers are without power.

UPDATE, 11:45 a.m.: A tractor-trailer overturned in the northbound lanes of Interstate 390 in Henrietta, near Interstate 90 and Exit 12 just before 11:30 a.m.

Witnesses at the scene reported that the northbound tractor-trailer was pushed sideways by a gust as the rig passed over a bridge that spanned the Thruway, according to Monroe County sheriff's deputies, who are investigating the crash.

The unloaded truck, owned and operated by Wegmans came to rest on its side, facing the wrong direction as it blocked one of the highway's northbound lanes, deputies said.

The driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital for evaluation. Deputies closed one northbound lane as they investigate and cleanup at the scene.

UPDATE, 11:30 a.m.: Brockport firefighters are on North Main Street in the village where it was reported that bricks had fallen from a three-story building.

UPDATE: 10:20 a.m.: Rochester Gas & Electric crews have restored power to thousands of customers in the region, but about 2,100 customers in Monroe and Ontario counties are still without power, according to the company. While power was restored to a majority of Gates and Henrietta customers, more than 1,000 Brighton customers are still in the dark.

UPDATE 10 a.m.: The façade of a vacant building on East Main Street has fallen from the structure and is currently on the ground, closing East Main Street in both direction between St. Paul Street and South Clinton Avenue. Witnesses say the debris that fell struck a car in the road. Rochester police are investigating and Rochester firefighters were also called to the scene. No injuries were reported.

The East Main Street building is among a block of structures owned by local developer Patrick Dutton. Last March, he along with co-owners Gary Dutton and Luke Dutton spent $10,000 to cover the façade of that structure and one nearby with life-like banners depicting how the buildings might look once renovated.

Those banners were largely destroyed by wind storms last year.

UPDATE 9:40 a.m.: A large tent set up inside Frontier Field has blown over due to high winds in the area. The tent has ripped and is damaged and has come to rest, upside down, against a exterior gate at the complex. Rochester firefighter have been called to the scene.

UPDATE, 9:20 a.m.: Several wind gusts have already been recorded through the region, including a 58 mph gust at the Greater Rochester International Airport, which was recorded at 8:18 a.m., according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo. Sixty mph gusts were recorded in Batavia at 8:25 a.m. and at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport at 8:29 a.m., said Weather Service Meteorologist Jon Hitchcock.

UPDATE, 9 a.m.: More Monroe County residents have lost power, bringing the current number of Rochester Gas & Electric Corp. customers in the dark to 4,555. That figure includes more than 1,500 customers in Gates, 1,400 customers in Henrietta and 1,100 customers in Brighton.

UPDATE, 8:30 a.m.: More than 3,100 Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. customers are without power in Monroe and Wayne counties. That figure includes more than 1,500 customers in Henrietta and more than 1,100 customers in Brighton.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo issued a high wind warning through late Wednesday for most of western and central New York.

Weather Service Meteorologist Dan Kelly said strong westerly winds are expected to pick up after a cold front moves through the region on Wednesday morning.

The strongest gusts are expected between 11 a.m, and 5 p.m., Kelly said, " but that's not to say strong gusts won't happen outside that time frame."

The warning is in pace through 11 p.m. in Monroe and Orleans counties and is expected to bring sustained winds between 35 and 45 mph and gusts up to 70 mph. Genesee and Wyoming counties, the same conditions are expected, but the warning expires several hours earlier, at 8 p.m., according to the Weather Service.

In Wayne County, sustained winds are predicted to be between 30 and 40 mph and gusts may only reach 65 mph. The high wind warning in place there also ends at 11 p.m., forecasters said.

A similar warning is in place for Ontario and Livingston counties, where sustained winds between 25 and 35 mph and gusts up to 60 mph are expected.

All this wind may topple trees, down branches and damage power lines, potentially causing widespread power outages in the Rochester region. Kelly advised people who are out and about to be careful traveling in the windy weather.

A lakeshore flood warning was also issued for Wayne County and several other counties along the southeastern shore of Lake Ontario, according to the Weather Service. Strong westerly winds are expected to create significant wave action along the shoreline and could potentially cause flooding and erosion, according to forecasters.

That warning is in effect between 2 p.m. Wednesday through 2 a.m. Thursday.

VFREILE@Gannett.com