DAYS 1-5 (MARCH 24-28)
A potential hazard exists for parts of the region to start the day today, and that is ice patches on the ground in the wake of yesterday’s storm system. Far north and west of Boston from the Worcester Hills to the Monadnock Region the temperature never got that far above freezing, and in some cases sat near to below freezing for a good part of the day on Saturday. Coatings to a few inches of snow were followed by sleet and freezing rain, and even areas that changed to rain did not warm up all that much. This was followed by a temperature drop overnight. Further south and east, while the initial snow/sleet and eventual freezing rain were not an issue, wet ground was left behind from rain before temperature fell sub-freezing. In many areas, a pick-up of overnight and early morning wind has helped to evaporate water / sublimate ice off many surfaces, but where that did not occur, be alert for icy patches that may linger for a while this morning, before the combination of wind and temperatures climbing over freezing, as well as higher sun angle where the sun is shining, will help largely eliminate the ice-on-ground issue. For our weather today, offshore low pressure and high pressure to our northwest will combine to create a brisk north to northeast wind, and while it will be a dry day, we’ll have a canopy of clouds often covering much of the east / southeast 1/2 to 2/3 of the sky. This will limit the sun earlier in the day, but allow it to shine more later on. This set-up shifts only slightly on Monday with high pressure a bit further northeast and low pressure a bit further southwest, shifting our wind more to northeast. While the upper level cloud canopy will still be a factor, we may see more lower clouds being driven in off the ocean on the northeast wind, especially for coastal areas from Boston south, limiting the sun further. When we get to Tuesday and midweek, we’ll enter a stretch of unsettled weather again. This will initially begin as the offshore low pressure drifts southwest to west and throws an arm of moisture in the form of light rainfall our way during Tuesday. At the same time, another trough of low pressure will start to slide into the Northeast after high pressure has drifted sufficiently away into Atlantic Canada. These systems will combine at midweek to give us a cloudy sky and frequently wet weather. As we get closer to that, timing and rain intensity details will come more into focus, but for now plan on unsettled weather for several days…
TODAY: Limited sun early becomes brighter with time. Highs 41-48. Wind N-NE 10-20 MPH with higher gusts, strongest at eastern shores.
TONIGHT: Variably cloudy with most clouds over RI, eastern MA, NH Seacoast. Lows 30-37. Wind NE 10-20 MPH, gusty.
MONDAY: Partly sunny. Highs 38-45. Wind NE 10-20 MPH, gusty.
MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Lows 31-38. Wind NE 5-15 MPH, higher gusts.
TUESDAY: Cloudy. Chance of rain in the afternoon, favoring eastern areas. Highs 40-47. Wind E 10-20 MPH, strongest coast.
TUESDAY NIGHT & WEDNESDAY: Overcast. Periods of rain. Areas of fog. Temperatures steady in 40s. Wind E to SE 5-15 MPH.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT & THURSDAY: Overcast. Rain showers likely. Foggy times. Temperature steady in 40s. Wind E-NE 5-15 MPH, higher gusts.
DAYS 6-10 (MARCH 29 – APRIL 2)
Optimistic outlook for drying trend March 29 and a dry, chilly March 30-31 weekend. Additional unsettled weather to begin April with near to below normal temperatures.
DAYS 11-15 (APRIL 3-7)
We’ll have to continue to watch low pressure to our south to bring potential unsettled weather while high pressure to the north provides plenty of cool air.