DAYS 1-5 (APRIL 20-24)
A slow-moving cold front delivers showers to our region for a good portion of today, with central MA and southwestern NH already having seen the steadiest, while during mid to late morning the most widespread showers will run from RI through eastern MA to the southeastern NH, and as we head through late morning and midday this area will shift through southeastern MA before exiting via Cape Cod by about 2:00 p.m. Meanwhile, a trough of low pressure will approach and swing through the area later this afternoon and early evening, and this can set off some additional rain showers. Between that, a sliver of sunshine can visit many locations, but overall clouds are going to be dominant. If later in the day the showers with the trough have enough clear breaks between them or a clear slot behind them, we may see the appearance of rainbows as the sun lowers in the west. So “rainbow chasers” can keep an eye out for that. Tonight we dry out thoroughly, and this fair weather will then be with us for the balance of the weekend, for a much nicer Sunday, but we’ll have to deal with a gusty breeze, and the popping up of some fair weather clouds, typical of springtime in New England. There will also be a shield of high clouds that spreads across at least a portion of the sky during the day, from low pressure passing to our south. I don’t expect this cloud shield to completely blot out the sun, but will filter to dim it, more so as you head south, but the position of the cloud deck later in the day may set up a colorful sunset for at least a portion of our region. High pressure brings fair weather Monday and Tuesday. Monday will be the cooler of the 2 days as far as high temperatures, but Tuesday can see a very large temperature diurnal (difference between morning low and afternoon high) when a very chilly Monday night / Tuesday morning is followed by the a significant warm up during the day. With very low dew points, any top soil moisture quickly evaporates out, and with our region largely still ahead of leaf-out, this will mean the fire danger will increase notably early in the week. And with an active breeze at times, any fires that do start can spread easily. The next trough and frontal system will arrive Wednesday from the west with unsettled weather.
TODAY: Mostly cloudy. Widespread rain showers spread eastward then end late morning / early afternoon. Additional scattered rain showers later on. Highs 57-64. Wind S up to 10 MPH early, SW 5-15 MPH midday on.
TONIGHT: Partly cloudy. Lows 42-49. Wind SW 5-15 MPH, higher gusts, shifting to W.
SUNDAY: Mostly sunny morning. Partly sunny afternoon. Highs 56-63. Wind W 10-20 MPH, gusts around 25 MPH.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy evening. Mostly clear overnight. Lows 38-45. Wind W 5-15 MPH.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs 55-62. Wind WNW 5-15 MPH.
MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear. Lows 33-40. Wind W under 10 MPH.
TUESDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs 61-68. Wind WSW 5-15 MPH.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Clouds arrive. Lows 45-52. Wind S up to 10 MPH.
WEDNESDAY: Cloudy. Midday and afternoon rain showers likely. Highs 56-63. Wind SE-S 5-15 MPH.
DAYS 6-10 (APRIL 25-29)
Behind a front with upper level low pressure still moving through, April 25 can have a lot of clouds and maybe a passing shower of rain/graupel, with chilly air and gusty wind. Fair, more tranquil weather follows for April 26 but may start quite cold. April 27-28 weekend is vulnerable to unsettled weather as we transition to what can be a warm but fair end to the period on April 29.
DAYS 11-15 (APRIL 30 – MAY 4)
Frontal boundary may be nearby around the April 30 / May 1 time frame with unsettled weather, followed by somewhat drier weather and variable temperatures.