Here is an updated forecast for the Boston area…
TODAY: Mostly cloudy. Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly in the afternoon. Thunderstorms should remain below severe levels with the greatest chance for storms well inland. High in the 70s but may touch 80 in a few locations if there is more sunshine than I am expecting. Wind SW 10 to 20 mph with higher gusts.
TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Showers likely. Chance of thunderstorms early. Low in the upper 50s. Wind W 5 to 15 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with showers into mid morning then gradual clearing. High in the middle 60s. Wind W 5 to 15 mph.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear. Low 50 to 55. Wind N up to 10 mph.
THURSDAY: Partly sunny. High 70 to 75 except 60s at the coast. Wind NE to E 5 to 10 mph.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Low 55 to 60. Wind S 5 to 15 mph.
FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. High 70 to 75. Wind SW 5 to 15 mph.
SATURDAY (5-28): Variably cloudy. Scattered showers. Low 57. High 71.
SUNDAY (5-29): Partly sunny. Isolated showers. Low 53. High 77.
MONDAY – MEMORIAL DAY (5-30): Partly cloudy. Low 57. High 80.
TUESDAY (5-31): Mostly sunny. Low 59. High 83.
Thanks, TK! It’s cloudy right now in Sudbury and muggy. I am guessing there will be at least some sun today – my guess some sun will break through by 11:00 a.m. But, I could be wrong. I hope I am if any sun would cause any strong thunderstorms. But as JJ has said, any severe weather would more likely be to the southwest of here, if I am correct on that. I will be in and out but I will be keeping an eye to the sky – and to the radar! Have a good day all!
I think the call for mostly cloudy is a good one. The satellite picture shows a lot of mid and high level clouds all the way back to western PA and NY, though they are progressing eastward quickly. Also, at least here near the coast, south of Boston, the visibility is low and drizzle is still falling. It should be an interesting day to watch what parts of New England get sun and sharply rising temps.
The storm prediction center has a lot of SNE in their slight risk area. I don’t agree with that but will see. I think the best shot of seeing any severe weather and it will be isolated is CT River Valley west so that area I am giving a 2 which is MODERATE Level Activity since there is a chance for those areas to see a few storms go severe. This is all depending on how much sunshine comes out because if those areas stays in cloudy the thunderstorms will not be as strong. For everyone else I am thinking a 1 which is MINOR meaning thunderstorms that remain below severe levels. I’ll be keeping an eye on things this afternoon and also an eye to the sky.
Sun has been breaking through periodically in Framingham for about 20 minutes. It is incredibly humid. Our porch has a tile floor and it is humid enough to have caused pools of water on it. I am assuming its because it sits on a concrete slab which is colder than the air. Maybe someone can tell me if that’s accurate.
Vicki – The sun has been out here in Sudbury for some time now with clouds occasionally obscuring the sun. It is very humid out. A bunch of mushrooms have sprouted almost overnight in our backyard which is very damp. I don’t know for sure, but it sounds right that water could form on the tiles from the cooler slab below. But just keep an eye on it anyway. There is a nice breeze out which makes the humidity tolerable and if it wasn’t for the threat of storms it would be a perfect summery day weather-wise for me.
Already there are some heavy showers heading into VT. According to the Eastern US Visible Loop satellite, there are some heavier clouds moving towards the Berkshires and heading northeast.
Looking at the satellite the clouds are thinning out over the Hudson River Valley and that area and working into parts of SNE. I also notice a little impulse over northern NJ producing a few showers. Will see what happens to that area. As I always say on days when you have a humid air mass in place and you get sunshine to come out that is self destructing sunshine and have to keep an eye on for thunderstorm development.
TK based on your forecast for Sunday you thinking partly sunny? From what I can tell it looks like we have a front moving in on Sunday. Is that incorrect?
Thx
Showers moving into Berkshires – I am guessing that they will intensify as they move east due to the sun we have had – but we will see.
Just read the mesoscale discussion from the storm prediction center and it says a watch is unlikely for SNE only giving a 20@ shot of that happening.
As of 4 PM…
Very Humid out there currently, with clouds and haze dominating the sky.
The temp seem to have dropped a tad, or maybe it’s just me…
Its a relief that the houses are still relatively cool compared to outside.
The radar doesn’t really show much action except a few scattered T-Storms. We’ll see as the afternoon progresses if any real action starts to develop.
Another active afternoon in the Midwest at the moment with several tornado vortex signatures appearing.
Unfortunately it looks more tornadoes again today for the Plains and Midwest. Hopefully nothing like the other day in Joplin, MO.
Sun – or better hazy sun – has been replaced by clouds. The wind has picked up some also. Looks like a line of storms just west of MA/NY border. I’m trying to learn how things are affected so hope you don’t mind my questions. Is it likely that line won’t hold together since the sun has been replaced by clouds? Or can the sun earlier still have enough effect to fuel the line as it moves east?
I don’t know if this is true, but I’m going to attempt to answer this…
Thunderstorms are often triggered by disturbances in the atmosphere, making it “unstable”. These disturbances are often triggered by having a Cold boundary up above and a warm moist environment at the surface, like what we have now. The sun is there to warm the surface prior to a storm, and with the clouds in place, the warmth won’t be able to really escape, so its almost the clouds will help a storm out…again this is all coming from what knowledge I have and may or may not be true.
Thank you Scott. That was a great explanation.
With today’s 6-10 and 8-14 day outlooks calling for above normal temps and normal to below normal precip, I would say that we have now finally turned the corner and should remain in a more typical late spring/very early summer pattern for the foreseeable future. Keeping my fingers crossed that Memorial Day turns out great. I plan to BBQ that day. 🙂
I will likely never, ever say this at any time during the upcoming summer, but the humidity actually felt pretty good today. My guess is because we have been through so much chill most of this spring including yesterday.
Pete Bouchard’s forecast of 80s, which I must admit I had some doubt about, are starting to look reasonable. The EURO looks extremely warm as the Memorial Day Weekend progresses.
Wow that tornado on radar just North West of Oklahoma City looks very well developed. It’s worth checking out. However it’s probably producing significant wide spread damage.
Watching the storm chaser video on The Weather Channel large tornado near the Piedmont, Oklahoma area.
Blue sky and nice air here clouds moving in To the north
On radar it appears one system will pass just north of Franingham and the other just south with us between the two. Oddly that happens here more than not
A strong tornado has it’s eyes on Dallas TX, not good…
Lets hope that thunderstorm weakens.
It looks that thunderstorm producing that tornado starting to take that turn to the southeast very close to Dallas.
Dallas may escape just to the south of the twister, however another intensifying cell is making it’s way to the Dallas area.
Been watching the 1st Atlantic low of the hurricane season — nothing expected to develop from it.
Is it possible that the oil spill on the Gulf last year could be contributing to the severe weather in the deep south and the midwest? I am thinking that if the water is warmer in the Gulf it would make for more moisture heading north, giving more strength to any storms.
Hi Rainshine,
(My answer is just an opinion)……..If I have heard correctly as well, the Gulf of Mexico water temps are running above average for this time of year. In April and again during the most recent week, the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) has been neutral or positive. Every time that happens, the weather pattern changes to having strong low pressure areas that travel through the plain states in a path that draws warm, humid, unstable air northward out of the Gulf. The active jet stream then provides the lift and dynamics to unfortunately create these thunderstorms that are rotating. I think that is more responsible for the severe weather and that the oil spill has had little or no effect.
Great question and comments. Tom – is there enough oil on the gulf water to form a film and keep or have kept it warmer or would the amount of oil required to do that be astronomical?
Hi Vicki.
Not to diminish how much oil leaked into the Gulf, but I dont think it was enough to affect water temps. The whole story of that natural disaster surely has faded from media coverage. It would be interesting to know if there’s still oil on the water surface or if it has been diluted by wind, currents and the passage of several months time.
Hi Tom – My husband says you are correct. His perspective is from an oil standpoint and not meteorological. He works with oils and testing them (transformer and other electrical oils specifically) and you’d think I would have asked him but rainshines question intrigued me. He said the oil degrades and in his opinion there could not have been nearly enough to coat the surface of the Gulf enough to raise the water temp.
In my opinion, this morning’s combination of warm sunshine with a pleasant breeze is making the start of this day the best weather day of the year thus far.
Tom – thanks for your reply. You are probably right – I am just wondering if the oil spill is making the water warmer. And I agree with you on today’s weather around here. It is the perfect spring day and the best weather we have had so far this year! 🙂
I finally opened some of my windows this morning, and plan to open the rest over the weekend. They haven’t been open since last fall. I am feeling much better about this upcoming summer and looking forward to a great one weatherwise. However, I am still maintaining my opinion that this year 2011 was “The Year Without A Spring”. Yesterday’s high temp in Boston was 82, which, I believe is the average normal for July, so for all practical purposes, we are now in “summer” mode. 🙂
I just had lunch out on the deck – what an absolutely lovely late spring day although as said above it feels more like summer. There is a touch of humid warmth but the house is still cool as is the ground. It’s a top 10 for me!
I will say IMO the pattern goes back to a more late spring pattern after memorial day weekend and into the 1st half of June looks more like April or May, the next 5 days look warm though 🙂
April or May???? Ugh. Is this then the spring that keeps teasing but won’t let go?
Vicki, I would not worry about the pattern reverting back at least for now. The 8-14 day CPC outlook is for a return to “seasonable” temps with continued below normal rainfall. 🙂
I have a good feeling that Summer 2011 will be very enjoyable for everyone! Last summer was a bit too hot for me at times.
Game 7 at the Garden Friday night…Julien’s job probably on the line?