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The Grand Finale

The omega block has provided one of the longest stretches of bright sunny spring weather that I can recall. It has been fantastic for outside work and sports activities but too cool for many at the coast. The daily wind blowing in from the cold ocean has been chilling the coast but it could have been much worse with days and days of low clouds and fog all day. The benevolent high pressure system is departing today as the block breaks down and shifts eastward. This movement will enable the arrival of a closed upper level low pressure system and its attendant surface reflection and frontal boundaries. That simply means it's going to be raining here starting by late tomorrow morning and lasting into Thursday. Initially, the rain will likely be rather widespread tomorrow afternoon into the evening with spotty showers and isolated boomers on Thursday. This batch of rain will not erase the deficit but it will add some moisture to the dry land and decrease the fire danger as well as cleanse the air of some of the tree pollen. The last measurable rain occurred 11 days ago and that only amounted to a meager 0.03".

As the ridge of high pressure weakens, lifts and shifts today, a band of cloudiness over Cape Cod will pivot northward into at least southeastern MA creating a partly cloudy sky while the rest of the region has nearly unlimited sunshine underneath that ridge. If you are spending some time outside, please apply the sunscreen! Light wind will evolve into a southeasterly breeze at 5-15 mph and that will once again keep the coastline cooler but not as bone-chilling as the past several days. It should warm up to the middle 60s near the ocean with east-facing coastal areas warming to 70 late in the day once the wind veers to a more southerly direction. Meantime, temperatures inland will rise up well into the 70s with readings slightly exceeding 80 mainly in western Middlesex County into northern Worcester County into interior NH. With increasing cloudiness and a light southerly breeze tonight, it will stay mild with low temperatures in the middle to upper 50s.

The first ribbons of rain will transit into the region from southwest to northeast tomorrow morning. I am anticipating the first spritzes or drops around 11am in Boston. There could be some brief intervals of heavier rain in the afternoon and evening as temperatures fall a bit in the 60s. There will probably be some fog on the South Coast and Cape Cod as rather humid air flows up across the cold ocean. The initial more widespread rain is associated with the frontal boundaries and the scattered showers and boomers on Thursday will be triggered by the upper level low passing overhead. After it exits, Friday should be partly sunny with highs in the lower to middle 70s. The next weather maker will be approaching as a disturbance lifting east-northeastward from the Ohio Valley cranks out a shield of rain and releases it across New England on Saturday. A cold front surging across the Great Lakes associated with a vigorous upper level storm will push across NY and PA Saturday night and pass eastward over our region on Sunday with another band of showers and possible boomers. The showers will end Sunday afternoon as the front shifts offshore late in the day. Plentiful sunshine with drier air amidst a brisk westerly breeze will occur next Monday with highs in the lower to middle 60s.

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

Make it a great day!

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