DAYS 1-5 (JUNE 19-23)
Two days of heat before a cold front from the north turns the dial down a few notches for Friday and the coming weekend. As previously discussed, the combination of a strong upper level ridge on the East Coast and surface high pressure to the south brings us the end-of-spring / start-of-summer blast furnace. We greet summer officially with the occurrence of the solstice at 4:50 p.m. EDT on Thursday. Thunderstorm chances are pretty small today, with just a few isolated pop-ups possible in the region from central MA’s hills to southern NH late afternoon to early evening, and the chance goes up a little bit on Thursday as we start to feel the effects of an approaching cold front from the north, with the threat that day being of isolated to scattered storms in the late afternoon and evening, favoring areas north of the Route 2 corridor, especially southern NH. A few of these can survive a little further southward at night and into early Friday. Frontal timing looks fairly early on Friday with a regionwide shift of wind to north and northeast from north to south during the morning and midday hours, preventing much of the region from having time to rise to or above 90. Additionally, a lot more clouds will hang around on Friday and there can be a few additional showers around. Canadian high pressure should be strong enough to limit Saturday’s shower threat to the South Coast and the hills to the west, with much of the region enjoying dry weather. Sunday, however, the boundary will attempt a comeback with clouds becoming more dominant, and a shower threat, but again greatest to the south and west.
TODAY: Mostly sunny. Slight chance of isolated afternoon thunderstorms, favoring north central MA and southern NH late-day. Highs 77-84 Cape Cod, 85-92 remainder of South Coast, 93-100 elsewhere, hottest interior valleys. DP middle to upper 60s, may touch 70 South Coast region. Wind SW 5-15 MPH.
TONIGHT: Mostly clear. Lows 70-77, warmest urban centers. DP middle to upper 60s. Wind SW up to 10 MPH.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny to partly cloudy. Evening showers and thunderstorms possible mainly southern NH and far northern MA. Highs 78-85 Cape Cod, 86-93 remainder of South Coast, 94-101 elsewhere, hottest just east of the Worcester Hills. DP may fall toward 60. Wind shifting to W 5-15 MPH, gusts around or above 20 MPH.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Variably cloudy. Scattered to isolated showers and thunderstorms. Lows 72-79, warmest urban centers. DP 60+. Wind W up to 10 MPH.
FRIDAY: Partly to mostly cloudy. Potential for scattered showers and a slight chance of a thunderstorm, favoring the I-90 belt southward. Highs 75-82 coast, 82-89 inland areas, warmest southwest of Boston. DP 60s. Wind shifting to N and NE 5-15 MPH.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Variably cloudy. Patchy fog. Chance of a shower or thunderstorm mainly south of I-90. Lows 65-72. DP falls to upper 50s. Wind NE under 10 MPH.
SATURDAY: Partly sunny. A shower or thunderstorm possible South Coast and far west of Boston. Highs 77-85, coolest coast. DP around 60. Wind E up to 10 MPH.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy. A shower possible mainly south and west of Boston. Lows 61-68. DP around 60. Wind variable up to 10 MPH.
SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers, favoring areas south and west of Boston. Highs 75-82, coolest coastal areas. Wind SE 5-15 MPH.
DAYS 6-10 (JUNE 24-28)
Additional showers and thunderstorms possible in the region as a disturbance moves through from west to east June 24. This should be followed by a return to mainly fair and dry weather for mid period, with a possible shower as some warmth/humidity tries to return end of period. But the large scale pattern should feature less East Coast ridge, which will be back to the west with more of a west to northwest flow in our region.
DAYS 11-15 (JUNE 29 – JULY 3)
Pattern for end of June / start of July looks similar with high pressure ridge centered mainly Midwest, may nudge eastward to western Great Lakes. Variable temperatures, no long hot stretch, dry most of time, but passing disturbances bring brief shower/t-storm chances.