It's About Time!
Finally, we are being rewarded for enduring a relentless harsh winter filled with record snowfall and insane cold. It is so great to enjoy outside activities again. Yesterday's big 68 degrees in Boston made it the warmest in 165 days going back just before Halloween on October 29th when it was a balmy 74 degrees. The really good news is that it was not just a one-day stand. Temperatures should bump up a bit higher today to slightly above 70 northwest of Boston ranging down to the
60s south of the MA Pike and to the 50s closer to south-facing coastal locations such as Cape Ann and Cape Cod. The southerly breeze will freshen to 10-20 mph. It will be a splendid day for the home opener at Fenway with a 3pm temperature near 66. If the wind veers a bit to more south-southwesterly, it could be a touch warmer under a sunny sky featuring some filaments and streamers of high thin clouds. Until next weekend, the temperatures should run above average and that has not happened in months! With the present set of global factors in play, I reiterate that, in my opinion, the mean temperature for April will end up near to slightly above average followed by slightly above average for June and July. Despite the frigid winter, there are no clues presently that a complete flip to sweltering torrid weather will occur this summer. I suspect we'll have a few more 90-degree days than last summer when there were only 8 in Boston. The average is 14 so I predict closer to 12 this summer. I doubt that we will have a repeat of no heat waves like last summer. At least 1 if not 2 seem to be in the cards but long-lasting stretches of extreme heat and tropical humidity are unlikely with the projected pattern.
Of more immediate concern for many is the weather for the Great Boston Marathon a week from today. The preliminary outlook calls for a ridge of high pressure to move in after some showers at least during the first half of next weekend. The ridge means decent weather highlighted by light wind and sunshine becoming filtered by approaching high cloudiness. It could start out cool at 7AM with temperatures 35-45 from Hopkinton to Boston. By late morning to noon, temperatures will have risen to the 50s to near 60 west of Boston but an onshore east to southeasterly breeze will be blowing into the city. That should not be a strong wind that will penetrate any further than 3-5 miles inland from the coast. So it could be closer to the lower 50s near the finish line. This is not a high confidence forecast just yet.
Make it a great week.
