Weather

FIRST ALERT: Thunderstorms Approaching, Dangerous Heat in Forecast

With the retun of humidity, New England is bracing for midweek thunderstorms and dangerous heat over the weekend.  

We have a First Alert posted for possible strong to severe thunderstorms Wednesday and night, along with localized flash flooding in heavier downpours through Thursday mid-day.

The day starts with many clouds in the morning and some patchy fog. Showers have arrived in western New England and are spreading across from west to east.

Most of us are not seeing rain in the morning, but the showers and storms will expand toward the south and east as the day goes on.

With high temperatures close to 90 degrees and a front approaching from the west, any of the thunderstorms later in day can not only produce a lot of lightning and heavy rain, but also potentially damaging wind gusts.

Wind is generally from the southwest at 10 to 20 mph, though it becomes northwest in northern New England in the afternoon. It will have slightly less humid air trying to come in.

The front will settle into southern New England Wednesday night with a remnant of Tropical Storm Barry coming right across southern and central New England, enhancing rainfall. In some cases we may see more than 3 inches of rain in a very short time. Similar to what happened last Thursday and Friday, localized flash flooding is a strong possibility.

A weak back door front pushes into southern New England Thursday as low pressure goes into the Gulf of Maine. Much less humid and cooler air in Maine will clash with the warm and sticky air in southern New England to keep rain going on and off from Connecticut to Cape Cod much of Thursday through mid-day.

Wind from the northeast means temperatures are much cooler all the way down to about Boston, with highs only in the 70s and low clouds and fog when it’s not raining. As you move to the north, even though it’s cooler air and the sun will be out in Maine, we should be in the 80s. Parts of Connecticut will be well into the 80s as wind will stay still due to south temperatures. It’s this clash of air masses that keeps the possibility of heavy rain going.

The front returns to the north on Friday with a cloudy start and a few showers possible. Then, with increasing sunshine and humidity coming back up, temperatures rebound to near 90 degrees in much of the region during the afternoon.

Low pressure to the north and high pressure to the south set up a perfect pressure gradient for wind from the west and hot air on Saturday. There’s the possibility of a few spots touching 100 degrees. For most of us, it’s in the 90s with dewpoints in the 70s, creating a heat index over 100 degrees. The hottest weather so far in 2019.

The heat may ease a bit on Sunday as the front settles slowly into northern New England. That also means a chance for a shower or thunderstorm.

On Monday, the front is right over us with a few showers and thunderstorms, in the 80s. Then, more seasonable weather with a high in the lower 80s returns for the middle of next week.

Stay tuned to the latest in our First Alert 10-Day Forecast.

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