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In The Zone

How sweet it was! Yesterday's weather was the warmest in 163 days going way back to October 20 when it maxed out at 74. Boston's high was 1 degree lower at 73 yesterday and that was 12 degrees lower than the record high for the date which was set in 1991. I am pleased that it worked out especially since I had been advertising it since last Wednesday. It put lots of people in a better mood. The temperatures across southern New England south of the MA Pike and excluding Cape Cod were in the middle to even some upper 70s. I'd be very happy if yesterday's weather could be duplicated throughout the entire summer. I'm working on an app for that! Anyway, we're in the zone- yesterday it was the warm zone, today it is the transitional cool zone and tomorrow through Friday, it's the cold zone.

The degree of warming today is highly dependent upon the amount of available sunshine. It appears that the cloudiness will break up, decrease and even vanish in some areas as the morning progresses so with lingering warm air aloft, surface temperatures have a shot at rebounding back to the lower and even middle 60s farther inland away from the ocean. Closer to the coast, the northeasterly breeze, albeit light but freshening to 6-12 mph, will check the degrees around 50-55 with a set back to the upper 40s as the afternoon progresses. Inland areas may also cool a bit as more cloudiness rolls back in during the afternoon as the next impulse approaches. It will spread its shield of rain over the region this evening so be prepared with the rain gear if you are attending the Red Sox Game. The first sprinkles and light showers could arrive not long after the first pitch. It will cool off to near 44 most areas overnight as the rain tapers to patchy mist and spottier showers after midnight. As this minor perturbation passes, it will serve to pull down another cold front from the north enabling cold air damming from Canada. This chills the lower levels as warmer, moist air overrides it and provides a mechanism for a wetter regime on Friday.

The next couple of days will be miserable for most but the good thing is some beneficial rain will be falling on Friday to alleviate the high fire danger and add some moisture to the lawns and gardens. Whatever falls tomorrow will be a nuisance with mainly batches of migrating mist and a few light showers in the region. Temperatures will be holding nearly constant in the middle 40s. As the northeast to easterly wind freshens to 8-18 mph, it could fall back a bit to the lower 40s near the ocean. The drizzle and light showers will blossom into a steadier and heavier rain on Friday with the potential of an inch perhaps two in places. The upper level system responsible for the crazy weather out west including intense cold and snow in the Rockies to the western Plains States with crashing temperatures eastward triggering some severe thunderstorms and tornadoes will be pressing toward the East Coast in the next 48 hours. The primary storm will transit into the eastern Great Lakes while a secondary storm forms over Delmarva. This feature will track northeastward and pass over Cape Cod Friday evening. It could bring a surge of warmth briefly up over parts of the Cape while the rest of the region is in the bone-chilling lower 40s on Friday. Once the storm churns out over the Gulf of ME, the rain will taper off to mist and a few light showers in the early morning hours of Saturday. Drier air will work into the mix on that day resulting in a brightening sky and some sunshine with temperatures rising to the middle to upper 50s. A weak upper level trough will pass through later Saturday and this may be enough to pop a few spotty showers. After that, Sunday will be sunnier with a few clouds in the afternoon and highs in the middle 50s.

Looking ahead to Patriots Day and the Great Boston Marathon, check my latest thinking on the Boston Marathon Weather Forecast. Please check out the exclusive WBZ race coverage.

Looking back, on this date in 1996, Boston received 5.4" of snow and it was the fourth day in a row of measurable snow which was a new record stretch for April! Part of the area had more than a foot! Foster, RI, for example, was buried in 21.5"! The heavy, wet snow produced much tree damage and widespread power outages. That 5.4" in Boston raised the 1995-96 seasonal total to a whopping 107.6" which continues to be the snowiest season ever in Boston going back over 140 years of record-keeping. Other record-smashing seasonal totals across the area include Hingham at 112.3", Reading at 125.5", Swampscott at 133.1" and Blue Hill at 144.4"!

Todd Gutner posts a fresh blog early this evening and I shall return tomorrow morning.

Make it a great day!

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