The handy "Clear Sky Chart" above is a much better indicator of the weather and how clear the sky will be for astronomical observing than many local weather reports. That's because weathermen will call the sky clear even when it is very humid so that the transparency will be poor. Weather reports usually don't say how dark the sky will be, either.
Click the link above to navigate to the Syracuse Astronomical Society web page. This is a local group that can give you all the 411 on watching the sky in the Syracuse area. They are very friendly people who love to watch the sky and the yearly family membership dues are quite reasonable.
Astrophotography Articles
Here is my first article on a topic in astrophotography.