Wind Advisories Mark Beginning Of March In Hudson Valley

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Hold onto your hats. March is known to come in like a lion, and the Hudson Valley will be experiencing strong winds with high wind gusts from Monday afternoon through Tuesday.

The National Weather Service issued wind advisories for the region.

For Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties, the advisory is in effect from 4 p.m. Monday to 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The forecast calls for northwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.

For Columbia, Dutchess and eastern Ulster counties, the advisory goes into effect at 1 p.m. Monday and will expire at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Meteorologists said there will be northwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 55 mph.

In the entire region, gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down, causing power outages.

Due to snowmelt and recent rainfall some tree root systems may have been compromised, which could lead to some uprooted trees.

Motorists in high-profile vehicles should use extra caution when driving.

Central Hudson sent out a wind advisory, saying the company is monitoring the weather system and has a full complement of crews and contractors ready to respond if outages occur.

"Our customers, too, are also advised to take precautions and stay alert, as falling trees and limbs can block roadways, bring down power lines and cause hazardous conditions," said Ryan Hawthorne, vice president of electric engineering and operations.

Here is the forecast from the National Weather Service for northern Westchester for the rest of the week:

• Monday: A 50 percent chance of rain, mainly before noon. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 48. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 11 to 16 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.
• Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow showers before 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 16. Wind chill values between zero and 10. Blustery, with a northwest wind 15 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph.
• Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 32. Wind chill values between zero and 10. Breezy, with a northwest wind 16 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 39 mph.
• Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 26. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
• Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 48. Southwest wind 6 to 8 mph.
• Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29.
• Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 41.
• Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22.
• Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 34.
• Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23.