Happy Easter
It was the week that was and a rather typical one at that for April in New England featuring the warmest day since October 7 at 75 degrees on Monday. That was followed by a coating up to more than an inch of sleet and snow yielding very icy roads early Wednesday morning. Three bone-chilling days in the 40s then gave way to a nice recovery to the lower 60s on Saturday which was about 5 degrees above the average for the date. The wind direction was key to making it warmer or colder. Wind blowing in from the cold ocean has kept us shivering since Wednesday until yesterday when a brisk wind blowing from the land to the ocean blocked any air flow from the sea so it was much warmer by about 20 degrees.
This Easter Sunday is starting rather nippy in the lower to middle 30s for sunrise services. Sunshine should rule during the day although some wispy cloudiness may be around at times with perhaps a few scattered low clouds drifting in from the ocean down over Cape Cod and a few other places over southeastern MA. As high pressure builds over the region from the north, the wind will be back to onshore meaning it will be chilly again along the coast with highs there in the middle to upper 40s while well inland, it will be milder with middle 50s more common. Easter Sunday is a floating celebration that occurs on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or following the vernal equinox or the beginning of spring. The earliest and latest dates for Easter are March 22 and April 25. The earliest date last occurred in 1818 and will not happen again until 2285! The latest date last occurred in 1943 and will not occur again until 2038.
Splendid weather is on tap for the Great Boston Marathon on Monday. It will start out in the 30s at dawn then rise to near or just over 50 in Hopkinton by 10am with temperatures ascending through the 50s into the lower 60s as the runners progress along the race course. There will be a 10-15 mph south-southwesterly breeze along the way making it a tail wind in places and a cross wind in other places. There will not be any strong gusts at 20 mph or greater. As the runners get closer to Boston, it may be warming to the middle 60s just west of Boston by 3pm. There is some uncertainty regarding the wind direction closer to the finish line. There is some chance that a component in from the ocean could make it a bit cooler in the city only. Over the previous 10 Boston Marathons, most of the temperatures have been in the lower to middle 50s with 2004 and 2012 standing out with summertime heat in the middle to upper 80s.
Looking ahead, a frontal boundary approaching from the west will produce a spell of showers late Tuesday and Tuesday night. After near 70 degrees on that day, it will be partly sunny on Wednesday followed by bright sunshine on Thursday. Both days will be windy thanks to an intensifying storm well offshore and it will be cooler again as well with highs in the middle to upper 50s. Some wet weather is possible again sometime next week.
Enjoy Easter and GOOD LUCK to all of the runners in the Boston Marathon.
