3:06AM
DAYS 1-5 (AUGUST 21-25)
First, the solar eclipse. As we’ve been talking about, the solar eclipse is today. With the path of totality well to the south of New England, unless you are making a trip to a narrow strip of land to hope for clear enough sky to witness it in person, you’ll have to rely on TV or the internet for that. Here in southern New England, we’re looking at a 60-65% coverage of the sun (63% in Boston) at eclipse maximum which is 2:46PM. The beginning is 1:28PM. The end is at 3:59PM. And the sky will be mainly clear for this event with great viewing conditions. I cannot urge you enough to view this eclipse safely with certified glasses made for the event, or a home made sun “projector” which allows you to project the image of the sun on a surface making it safe to view. When we get to Tuesday, the heat will be in for a one-day stand, along with higher humidity, but this will be cut short by a cold front that crosses the region from northwest to southeast in the early hours of Wednesday. Showers/thunderstorms that enter northwestern New England Tuesday night will likely be weakening as they cross southern New England overnight and early Wednesday, but we will have to watch for a few stronger storms that survive the trip. This will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the 3:20AM Concord MA tornado, which was a reminder that severe weather, though rare at that time, can occur at any time. Not looking for severe weather this time but cannot completely rule out a couple stronger storms surviving. Drier air will flow in later Wednesday and be in control into late week, along with somewhat cooler temperatures, though I am not convinced it gets as cool as some of the computer guidance suggests, so will bias the forecast a bit to the warmer side of most that you will see. My reasoning for this is that I believe guidance is coming up with a low pressure trough that is deeper and slower-moving than the one that will occur.
TODAY: Sunshine, dimmed by the moon for part of the afternoon (most noticeable 2:30PM-3:00PM). Highs 78-83 Cape and Islands, 84-89 elsewhere, though the temperature may drop a couple degrees during mid point of eclipse then recover – hardly noticeable. Wind W up to 10 MPH.
TONIGHT: Mostly clear evening. Partly cloudy overnight. Becoming more humid overnight. Lows 62-67. Wind light SW.
TUESDAY: Partly cloudy. Humid. Highs 78-85 south Coast, 85-92 elsewhere. Wind SW 5-15 MPH.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Increasing clouds. Showers/thunderstorms possible from northwest to southeast late night and overnight hours. Humid. Lows 65-72. Wind SW 10-20 MPH.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy with showers and thunderstorm exiting from northwest to southeast early, then partly sunny with a slight risk of isolated afternoon showers. Humid start, drier finish. Highs 77-85. Wind shifting to W 5-15 MPH.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny. Lows in the 50s. Highs in the 70s.
FRIDAY: Partly cloudy. Lows from the middle 50s to lower 60s. Highs from the middle 70s to lower 80s.
DAYS 6-10 (AUGUST 26-30)
Generally fair with temperatures pleasant but somewhat below normal on the August 26 but we will then have to keep an eye on the tropics for a possible system near or off the East Coast as otherwise the temperatures moderate and humidity increases again.
DAYS 11-15 (AUGUST 31-SEPTEMBER 4)
Seasonably warm and somewhat humid with a few shower and thunderstorm opportunities during this time period, which includes the Labor Day Weekend. Will fine-tune and detail this forecast going forward.