After another stellar, sun-filled fall day with high temperatures near 70, tonight we’ll see the overnight lows slip back to near 50 south, 40s north under mostly clear skies with a steady southwesterly wind. Thursday afternoon will feature another unseasonably warm afternoon with highs well into the 70s for most locations thanks to the dome of high pressure and the steady southwesterly flow. Our mild stretch of weather will continue, barely interrupted by a cold front that passes Thursday night and knocks a few degrees off the forecast temperatures for Friday, but still leaves us several degrees warmer than normal.
With the extended dry weather, abnormally dry conditions have taken hold of most of New England and when the new drought assessment is released late Thursday morning, it’s possible some of New England will slide back into drought conditions, 25 percent of the state of Maine is considered under a moderate drought as of last week’s drought monitor. The dry weather combined with fall die-off of some brush and leaf-fall also contribute to gradually rising brush fire classification starting Thursday and lasting through the weekend.
Aside from those two caveats, the weather will be splendid for outdoor plans and fall festivals all the way through the upcoming weekend, including the Head of the Charles, with temperatures near or over 70 each afternoon and no more raindrops than an infrequent afternoon sprinkle near the border with Canada. Also, this weekend, the Orionid meteor shower peaks early Saturday morning during the pre-dawn hours. The forecast is looking close to perfect with mostly clear skies that will give New Englanders a nice view of 10-20 shooting stars per hour. Sunday evening for the Patriots game, looks dry and mostly clear with temperatures at kick-off at 62 degrees and eventually dropping into the 50s by games end.
As we look ahead to the next work week, a larger storm will take shape in Southeast Canada early next week, increasing both our wind and our rain chances from Monday night through Wednesday, delivering a shot of noteworthy chill in its wake for the end of next week. So, take advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend since the upcoming work week brings the much-needed rainfall back into the area.
