Weather

Stubborn, Dense Fog and Drizzle as Humid Air Arrives

We're expecting a marked improvement in the weather on Thursday

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New England remains smack dab in the middle of a gloomy stretch of cloud cover, drizzle and fog, but there actually are some remarkable subtleties in the weather when we take a closer look.

A tap of tropical air is driving dew point temperatures into the 60s Tuesday – humidity akin to a summertime feeling, minus the heat – and this big increase in moisture is what drove widespread fog and drizzle development. With the supply of humid air continuing into New England, the fog will be quite stubborn Tuesday, and continues Tuesday night into Wednesday.

While drizzle can add up to a couple hundredths of an inch of rain over the course of Tuesday, no substantial showers are expected in eastern New England, with scattered showers in western New England, particularly near and west of I-91. 

By middle to late Tuesday afternoon, a new push of humid air from the southeast will spark scattered showers over Cape Cod that will likely move northwest across the rest of eastern New England, remaining scattered in nature, Tuesday evening and night. Far to the south, near Bermuda, a weak storm center is swirling over warm Atlantic waters, and while the National Hurricane Center give this system a 60% chance of development in the coming days, the likely result here in New England will be an enhancement to rain potential Wednesday.

With humidity and fog still hanging on and temperatures in the 60s, Wednesday is likely to deliver only a quarter to half inch of rain to eastern New England – light to moderate rainfall – but may deliver as much as an inch or more to eastern Maine, with slightly windier conditions from the south as a piece of that southern, tropical energy moves north from the Atlantic. 

It’s very likely a cold front crossing New England Thursday will substantially improve the weather, with enough lingering mild air Thursday afternoon for high temperatures in the 60s to near 70 with sun returning, but a northerly and northeasterly wind should knock those temperatures down some 15 degrees by Friday, as sun mixes with bubbling clouds in the changing air. 

The weekend starts excellent Saturday – bright and just a touch cooler than normal for the date with highs in the 50s – and while we’re leaning optimistic for Sunday with only increasing clouds and a chance of showers by night, we do need to carefully watch how quickly returning moisture from the south nudges into New England, as to whether the shower chance will build earlier on Sunday. 

Either way, right now we see an increased chance of showers on Halloween Monday and Tuesday to start next week in our exclusive First Alert 10-day forecast.

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