A storm sitting and spinning off the coast is sending clouds & scattered showers/drizzle into eastern Massachusetts and will continue to do so through Wednesday. No widespread heavy rain is expected. Areas far inland have seen little effect from this storm with more sunshine & warmer temperatures. This storm will wander away during Thursday with improving conditions over eastern Massachusetts. High pressure will build down from Canada late this week into the weekend, and though it is a tricky forecast, I believe that this high will be strong enough to keep unsettled weather south and west of the Boston area for Friday and the weekend. Next week may be a different story. More on that later. For now, details for the Boston area through the coming weekend…

THROUGH WEDNESDAY: Cloudy. Scattered showers and areas of drizzle, especially through Wednesday morning. Low 45 to 50. High 55 to 60. Wind N 10 to 20 mph gusting as high as 30 mph.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Low 45 to 50. Wind N 10 to 15 mph.

THURSDAY: Partly sunny. High 65 to 70. Wind N to NW 10 to 15 mph becoming variable.

FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY: Variably cloudy including episodes of sunshine all 3 days. Lows generally in the upper 40s to middle 50s. Highs generally in the 60s but cooler along the coast.

11:00PM

Low pressure will spin just off the coast for the first few days of the week, keeping it cool and at times unsettled in eastern New England. By Thursday, this low should move far enough east and a ridge of high pressure should move overhead to bring brighter, warmer weather for a day, before a new high pressure area to the north sends a cold front southward across the area with a late-week cooling trend.

Details for the Boston area…

MONDAY: Partly cloudy. High 55 to 60 coast ranging to 65 to 70 well inland. Wind N to NE 10 to 15 mph.

MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Low 45 to 50. Wind NE 10 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY: Cloudy. Slight chance of light rain or drizzle. High 53 to 58. Wind NE 10 to 20 mph and gusty.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Cloudy. Chance of drizzle. Low 44 to 49. Wind NE 10 to 20 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Cloudy. Chance of drizzle. High 54 to 59. Wind NE 10 to 20 mph.

THURSDAY: Sunny. Low 49. High 65.

FRIDAY: Variably cloudy. Low 48. High 61.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low 47. High 60.

SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low 48. High 63.

7:30PM

Showers and thunderstorms have been around since early afternoon, and though not everybody has been hit significantly, some areas did see hail and locally gusty winds with some of the storms today. Activity is beginning to wind down now, but there are still some scattered showers and storms around this evening as a disturbance slowly wheels its way across New England from west to east. This disturbance will help ignite an ocean storm just offshore during the remainder of the weekend, which will then hang around for the first few days of the upcoming week.  Basically, this means we won’t see much sunshine around here (though there may be a little tomorrow morning) into the middle of next week. Some periods of wet weather are also possible during this stretch of mostly cloudy weather. Temperatures will also be running below normal as the predominant wind direction will be north to northeast.

Details for the Boston area…

TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Scattered showers and thunderstorms decreasing and ending, though some locations may still see localized downpours and hail early. Low 45 to 50. Wind W up to 10 mph except locally gusty and variable near storms early, then shifting to N 5 to 10 mph later.

SUNDAY – MOTHER’S DAY: Partly sunny in the morning. Mostly cloudy with scattered showers in the afternoon. High 60 to 65. Wind N 5 to 15 mph.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Scattered showers early. Low 45 to 50. Wind N 5 to 15 mph.

MONDAY: Mostly cloudy. Isolated showers. High 57 to 62 except 52 to 57 along the coast. Wind N to NE 10 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Low 47. High 58.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Low 46. High 61.

THURSDAY: Partly cloudy. Low 45. High 64.

FRIDAY: Partly sunny. Low 48. High 65.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Low 47. High 62.

TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Low 50 to 55. Wind SW 10 to 20 mph decreasing to under 10 mph.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy. Scattered showers and thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon. Thunderstorms may produce strong winds, downpours, and hail in some locations. High 65 to 70. Wind SW 15 to 25 mph.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Variably cloudy. Scattered showers and thunderstorms early, then tapering off. Low 45 to 50. Wind shifting to N 10 to 20 mph.

SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy. High 50 to 55. Wind NE 10 to 20 mph.

MONDAY: Partly sunny. Low 44. High 61.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low 48. High 64.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low 51. High 65.

A slow-moving cold front is touching off showers and a few thunderstorms at this time, and this will continue for a few more hours (into the evening). A pool of cold air aloft will then cross the region Thursday, keeping clouds dominant and providing a risk of more showers. This upper level cold pool will be slow to exit late this week and a couple other disturbances will insure we don’t see complete clearing Friday or Saturday.

Forecast details for the Boston area…

THROUGH EVENING: Mainly cloudy with episodes of showers and a chance of thunderstorms. Heavy downpours at times will reduce visibility and cause ponding of water on some roadways. Temperature falling into the 50s. Wind W 5 to 15 mph with higher gusts.

OVERNIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Low 44 to 49. Wind NW 5 to 15 mph.

THURSDAY: Mostly cloudy.  Scattered to numerous showers. High 50 to 55. Wind N 10 to 15 mph.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Low 45 to 50. Wind NW 10 to 20 mph.

FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. Scattered showers. High 60 to 65. Wind W 10 to 20 mph.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Low 49. High 63.

SUNDAY: Variably cloudy. Chance of showers. Low 51. High 66.

MONDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Low 52. High 64.

TUESDAY: Partly sunny. Low 51. High 63.

TODAY: Cloudy. High 60 to 65 except 50s coast. Wind S to SE 5 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Cloudy. Low 50 to 55. Wind S 5 to 15 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Cloudy. Chance of showers. High 58 to 63. Wind S 10 to 15 mph shifting to W.

THURSDAY: Chance of showers. Low 48. High 59.

FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low 46. High 62.

SATURDAY: Chance of showers. Low 45. High 59.

SUNDAY: Chance of showers. Low 47. High 61.

Good morning all. Caught up in the events of last night so all I am posting for now is a quick forecast for the coming 7 days. I’ll write a full discussion later today. Have a great week everybody!

TODAY: Partly sunny. High 60 to 65, 50s coast. Wind SE 5 to 15 mph.

TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Low 48 to 53. Wind S up to 10 mph.

TUESDAY: Cloudy. High 60 to 65. Wind S 5 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Cloudy. Rain likely. Low 50 to 55. Wind S 10 to 20 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with rain in the morning. Mostly cloudy with a few showers in the afternoon. High 58 to 63. Wind S 10 to 15 mph shifting to W.

THURSDAY: Chance of showers. Low 48. High 59.

FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low 46. High 62.

SATURDAY: Chance of showers. Low 45. High 59.

SUNDAY: Chance of showers. Low 47. High 61.

8:20PM

After a Saturday that featured lots of clouds until mid afternoon in the Boston area, then more sun toward the end of the day, we will be able to enjoy a sunny Sunday for the first day of May! But enjoy the sun while you can, because when it fades away on Monday I don’t expect we will see much of it for the balance of the first week of May.

High pressure building overhead will be responsible for the nice weather on Sunday, though expect the coast to be quite cool thanks to a sea breeze. By Monday, this high pressure area will be moving offshore, making way for a frontal system to move in. This front will be slow to move in, and then likely slow to leave, as the upper level air flow will become parallel to the front along the East Coast. Also, slow-moving upper level low pressure will dominate New England the deeper into the week we go. All this means that a lengthy stretch of unsettled weather is likely in the cards. It will not rain all of the time, but several periods of damp weather and generally below normal temperatures can be expected, starting about Tuesday. More on this upcoming unsettled pattern on tomorrow’s blog. Meanwhile, for now, the details for the Boston area go like this…

TONIGHT: Mostly clear. Low ranging from near 33 inland valleys to 43 along the coast. Wind calm.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. High ranging from near 50 along the shore to the lower 60s over the interior. Wind N up to 10 mph early, mostly E 10 to 15 mph from late morning on.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear. Low 42 to 47. Wind SE 5 to 10 mph.

MONDAY: Increasing clouds. High ranging from the upper 50s south-facing shores to the upper 60s inland. Wind S 5 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of a few showers during the day. Chance of rain at night. Low 51. High 63.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain in the morning. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Low 49. High 59.

THURSDAY: Cloudy. Periods of light rain and drizzle. Low 48. High 55.

FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Low 48. High 59.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Low 47. High 62.

2:45AM

TODAY: Mostly sunny this morning. Partly sunny this afternoon. High 70 to 75. Wind W 10 to 20 mph.

TONIGHT: Variably cloudy with isolated showers early. Partly cloudy late. Low 45 to 50. Wind NW 10 to 20 mph.

SATURDAY: Partly sunny. High 60 to 65. Wind N 10 to 20 mph.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear. Low 43 to 48. Wind NW 10 to 15 mph.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. High 64 to 69. Wind SW 5 to 15 mph.

MONDAY: Partly sunny. Low 51. High 75.

TUESDAY: Chance of showers. Low 49. High 62.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low 45. High 59.

THURSDAY: Chance of rain. Low 45. High 55.

3:00AM

Boston Area Forecast…

TODAY: Mostly cloudy. Scattered showers and a slight risk of isolated thunderstorms. High 70 to 75. Wind S 15 to 25 mph.

TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy with showers and a chance of thunderstorms early, then clearing. Low 50 to 55. Wind S 10 to 20 mph shifting to W.

FRIDAY: Mostly sunny in the morning. Partly sunny in the afternoon. Mostly cloudy in the evening. High 65 to 70. Wind W 10 to 20 mph.

SATURDAY: Partly sunny. Low 43. High 59.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 47. High 66.

MONDAY:  Partly sunny. Chance of showers. Low 51. High 74.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Low 51. High 63.

WEDNESDAY: Cloudy. Chance of rain. Low 49. High 58.

10:40PM

50 in Boston, 80 in Fitchburg at the same time this afternoon. 46 in Boston, 77 in North Adams at the same time this evening. That’s Spring in New England, and these contrasts are especially pronounced when you have a very warm air mass trying to move in, and being met with resistance from a still-cold North Atlantic Ocean. You don’t need me to tell you how cold the ocean still is if you  live near the water today, and were under a bank of low clouds & fog with chilly air, as areas well inland felt a bit like summer…

So, what’s coming up? Not quite an exact repeat Wednesday, but some similarities. The warm air will start to win out in more areas than it did on Tuesday, so areas that stayed in the 50s today will warm at least to the 60s tomorrow, with some reaching 70 or higher, provided the wind is not blowing with some trajectory off the water. I believe that shower activity will be minimized tomorrow, but cannot be completely ruled out. The main action will still be well west of New England with a cold front. This front is expected to cross the region during Thursday, which will be a warm day pretty much everywhere, but with a greater chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Later this week, expect a cool-down, but not with total sunshine, as a pool of chilly air has to cross the region from west to east. This usually means some cloud development, and we will probably see that both Friday & Saturday. And it’s still several days out, but Sunday looks like it will turn out nice.

Details for the Boston area…

TONIGHT: Overcast. Areas of fog and drizzle. Low 45 to 50 through 4:00AM then warming into the 50s. Wind light NE to E, shifting to S up to 10 mph toward dawn.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Isolated showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms. High 70 to 75 except 60s along the coast. Wind S to SW 10 to 15 mph gusting 20 to 25 mph.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Isolated showers. Low 55 to 60. Wind SW to S 10 to 20 mph.

THURSDAY: Variably cloudy. Showers and thunderstorms developing from west to east during the afternoon. High 72 to 77 except still cooler along some south-facing coastal areas. Wind S 15 to 25 mph.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy with showers and a chance of thunderstorms early, then clearing. Low 50 to 55. Wind S 10 to 20 mph shifting to W.

FRIDAY: Sunny early, then partly to mostly cloudy. High 60 to 65. Wind W 10 to 20 mph and gusty.

SATURDAY: Partly sunny. Low 43. High 59.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 47. High 66.

MONDAY:  Increasing clouds. Low 49. High 64.

TUESDAY: Chance of showers. Low 51. High 63.

7:25PM

A frontal system will continue to oscillate back and forth over New England during the next couple days. This setup makes for a tricky forecast since there is a very warm air mass just south of the front, and it is much cooler to the north of it. And we also can’t forget the chilly ocean sitting next to us. Instead of launching into why I think the Boston area will be stuck in the cooler air Tuesday and finally bust into the warmer air Wednesday, and then why I think some areas may reach 80 Thursday because a final cold front from the west will be delayed in arriving (until that night sometime), let’s just go ahead and look at the details of what I expect for Metro Boston (and areas not too far away) for the next several days, including a peek at the coming weekend. My apologies for the run-on sentence.

TONIGHT: Partly cloudy along and south of the Mass Pike early, mostly cloudy to the north. Generally cloudy all areas later at night. Showers and thunderstorms traveling west to east across southern NH and extreme northern MA later at night (most should stay out of the city of Boston though there is a risk of a few brief showers there). Areas of fog, some locally dense. Low 45 to 55, coolest over eastern NH, mildest in the southwest suburbs of Boston. Wind variable up to 10 mph.

TUESDAY: Areas of fog, some dense, mainly before 8:00AM, otherwise cloudy. Isolated showers possible. Chance of drizzle in coastal areas from Boston northward. High 50 to 60, coolest along coastal areas north of Boston, mildest in Boston’s southwestern suburbs. Wind NE 5 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Low 45 to 55 from northeast to southwest across the region. Wind variable up to 10 mph becoming S to SW 10 to 15 mph toward dawn.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Isolated showers possible. High 65 to 70. Wind S 10 to 20 mph.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Variably cloudy. Low 50 to 55. Wind SSW 10 to 20 mph.

THURSDAY: Partly sunny. High 75 to 80. Wind SW 15 to 25 mph. Showers/thunderstorms at night.

FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low 51. High 64.

SATURDAY: Partly sunny. Low 44. High 61.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 42. High 63.

A frontal system is oscillating back and forth over the Northeast. This will continue for the next few days. On Saturday we were on the chilly side. Today, Easter Sunday, we were on the warm side here in the Boston area. Tomorrow, we will find ourselves back on the chilly side again. The front is expected to push further north putting the Boston area into the warm air again Tuesday, only to sink back to the south and return the cooler ocean air Wednesday, but yet another northward push on Thursday will return the region to the warm air. A cold front coming in from the west should produce showers and thunderstorms before pushing the whole see-saw system out of the region. High pressure will try to build in at the very end of the week with mainly dry weather.

Detailed forecast for the Boston area…

TODAY: Cloudy. A few periods of light rain. High 45 to 50 coast, 50 to 55 inland. Wind light NE.

TONIGHT: Cloudy. Low 43 to 48. Wind light variable becoming S.

TUESDAY: Cloudy to partly sunny. High 68 to 73. Wind S to SW 10 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 55 to 60. Wind SW 5 to 10 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Cloudy. Chance of drizzle. Temperature falling through the 50s. Wind NE 10 to 15 mph.

THURSDAY: PM showers & thunderstorms. Low 49. High 71.

FRIDAY: Isolated showers. Low 50. High 64.

SATURDAY: Partly sunny. Low 48. High 60.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 43. High 63.

1:45AM

Good morning all! This is a quick update of the Boston Area Forecast. Not much of a new discussion this time, since there are no major changes in the overall thinking layed out yesterday, just some tweaks for timing and tracks of systems during the forecast period, yielding the following forecast…

TODAY: Overcast. Periods of rain, though a very brief mix with wet snowflakes may occur especially over higher elevations in any pockets of heavier rain during the morning. Embedded heavier showers and thunderstorms possible, especially midday through early afternoon. High 45 to 50. Wind SE 15 to 25 mph.

TONIGHT: Cloudy. Lingering showers early. Patchy fog. Temperature rising into the lower 50s. Wind SW 10 to 15 mph.

SUNDAY: Partly sunny morning through mid afternoon. Mostly cloudy with showers late afternoon. High 65 to 70. Wind W 5 to 15 mph.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Cloudy. Showers likely early. Periods of very light rain and drizzle possible later. Low 42 to 47. Wind N 5 to 10 mph.

MONDAY: Cloudy. Periods of light rain. High 50 to 55. Wind E 5 to 10 mph.

MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Temperature rising to the upper 50s. Wind S 5 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY: Partly sunny. High 68 to 73. Wind SW 10 to 15 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy. Low 53. High 74.

THURSDAY: Chance of showers. Low 55. High 68.

12:15AM

For those that celebrate, Easter Weekend (or Good Friday through Easter Sunday) has arrived. Will the weather cooperate? For the most part, the answer is yes. Two dry days will surround one wet one. And as it stands, the wet one (Saturday) won’t be all that wet. After the windy day Thursday which saw mixed sun/clouds & even a few sprinkles, we have seen a clear and cold night as winds dropped off. High clouds ahead of the Saturday system will spill across the sky at times on Friday, dimming the sun. Some scattered lower fair weather clouds may also develop, so it will not be a completely sunny day. An ocean wind will keep temperatures rather cool. This cool weather will continue Saturday, which will be a cloudier day. Episodes of rain are possible, especially in the afternoon into the night. The frontal system responsible for the Saturday unsettled weather will stall just offshore Sunday, but there should be enough dry air working in to result in at least a little sun at times, along with milder temperatures for Easter.

The details for the Boston area with a peek into next week as well…

TODAY: Partly sunny. High 50 to 55 but holding in the 40s right along the shore. Wind E 5 to 15 mph.

TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Low 35 to 40. Wind E 5 to 10 mph.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of a period of very light rain or snow during the morning. Periods of rain and a few embedded heavier showers possible during the afternoon. High 50 to 55. Wind SE 10 to 20 mph.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Cloudy. Periods of rain in the evening. Areas of fog. Low 45 to 50. Wind SW 5 to 15 mph.

SUNDAY: Partly sunny. High 60 to 65. Wind W 5 to 15 mph.

MONDAY: Chance of showers. Low 48. High 56.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low 48. High 68.

WEDNESDAY: Chance of showers. Low 52. High 71.

THURSDAY: AM showers. PM clearing. Low 50. High 66.