3:35PM
The remarkably warm pattern is about to break down, and be replaced by a weather pattern more typical of March. Yes, it’s true.
Before this happens, one more Summery day will occur Thursday, with high temperatures going over 80 degrees in most locations in southern New England, the exception being in a few coastal spots where a westerly wind passes over cooler water first (parts of Cape Cod, for example). Yesterday, I described how a city like Concord NH can approach or even reach 90 in this set-up. Today, I will make a forecast high temp for Concord NH, and I expected them to fall shy of the big nine-O, topping out at 88. I’ll give Boston 85, Bedford MA 86, Taunton MA the same. And stubbornly, I’ll leave a very slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm in the forecast for areas south of the Mass Pike where I still believe a boundary may set up for a time during the afternoon. This may prove to be a complete non-event, but I’ll leave it there. I’d rather forecast a pop up storm and have it not take place rather than not forecast it and be surprised.
Friday: Transition day. A cold front will have passed in the early morning hours, and though it will still be a very mild day for March, you’ll notice a significant cool-down compared to Thursday, as a northerly wind blows.
The weekend: The cooling trend will continue, and as high pressure builds to the north and low pressure develops to the south, expect it to eventually turn unsettled. Sunday may turn out to be a wet day, and with enough cold air around at night, some areas may even see some showers of mixed precipitation and snow.
The early part of next week looks drier and chilly for southern New England as a storm slowly moves into the Canadian Maritimes and high pressure builds across the Great Lakes. Beyond this, a somewhat active, cooler pattern may become established, though it does not look like we see any major precipitation-producers for a while. Because of this, the low-moisture problem will persist, and outdoor fire danger will be running high.
Forecast for RI, eastern MA, and southern NH…
REMAINDER OF AFTERNOON/EVENING: Sunshine. Temperature in the 70s except 60s some coastal areas. Wind SW 5-15 MPH.
TONIGHT: Clear. Low ranging from the middle 40s inland valleys to middle 50s coastline. Wind W under 10 MPH.
THURSDAY: Sunny except some building clouds south of the Mass Pike with an isolated thunderstorm possible in the afternoon. High from the middle 70s Cape Cod to 80s most areas (see above for a few specifics). Wind WSW over far southern areas, WNW elsewhere, 5-15 MPH.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Clouds moving in from north to south. Slight chance of a rain shower mainly north of Boston. Low 50-55. Wind W 5-15 MPH shifting to N.
FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy early then partly to mostly sunny. High 65-70. Wind N 5-15 MPH.
SATURDAY: Increasing clouds. Low 40. High 55.
SUNDAY: Cloudy. Chance of rain during the day and rain or snow showers later at night. Low 35. High 45.
MONDAY: Clearing. Low 30. High 47.
TUESDAY: Sunny then variably cloudy. Low 28. High 39.
WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy. Low 22. High 46.