DAYS 1-5 (FEBRUARY 24-28)
The final 5 days of meteorological winter begin today with one of the nicer winter days we’ve had this season. While we start out with sunshine we will have to deal with cloudiness later this morning into this afternoon as a warm front crosses the region. This front will not bring any precipitation with it, but will serve to shift and increase the wind, so if you are near south-facing shores today you will not ss the warm-up that other areas see. Also, shoreline areas tend to be windier, so today will be a good example of how local variations are present in our weather. This evening a cold front will sweep west to east through the region with the possibility of a rain shower along it, but this front will shift the wind yet again, which will increase even more overnight, and transport colder air into the region. Thursday’s weather will feature sun but a lot of wind and a seasonable chill, which will feel colder due to the wind. A secondary trough swings through at night and delivers slightly colder air for Friday, although as we get into the day Friday the wind will drop off as high pressure moves into the region, so it may actually feel a little less cold Friday with the higher sun angle and less wind than the day before it felt with air not as cold but more wind – another little quirk of weather and how we feel it based on conditions. Looking ahead to the weekend, we’ll have to watch 2 low pressure systems, the first which will make a run at and into New England Saturday, its center passing northwest of our area, so that means milder air and a chance of some rainfall which could start as brief snow or mix in higher elevations well northwest of Boston before it’s simply too mild to support anything frozen falling from the sky. This system exits Saturday night. I don’t have a lot of faith in the second system hanging together as a formidable weather event as it makes its approach Sunday, so for now I just expect that it will add some cloudiness to our sky but deliver no precipitation, at least during the day on Sunday, which will be a mild day.
TODAY: Sun gives way to clouds. Highs 42-49. Wind SW 5-15 MPH.
TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy. A passing rain shower possible. Lows 35-42. Wind SW 5-15 MPH, higher gusts, shifting to NW and increasing to 15-25 MPH and gusty overnight.
THURSDAY: Sun and passing clouds. Temperatures steady 35-42. Wind NW 15-25 MPH and gusty morning, 10-20 MPH afternoon.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy. Lows 18-25. Wind NW 5-15 MPH.
FRIDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs 28-35. Wind W up to 10 MPH.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Increasing clouds. Lows 21-28. Wind variable up to 10 MPH.
SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy. Periods of rain, may start as sleet and/or snow. higher elevations north and west. Highs 40-47. Wind variable up to 10 MPH becoming S 5-15 MPH.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy evening with rain ending. Partly cloudy with patchy fog overnight. Lows 33-40. Wind W up to 10 MPH.
SUNDAY: Partly sunny. Highs 45-52. Wind W 5-15 MPH becoming variable.
DAYS 6-10 (MARCH 1-5)
March has a reputation for volatility and fickleness here in New England. March 2021 will probably waste no time displaying both of those traits. Watching at least 1 and probably 2 low pressure systems for potential impact and also watching at least 1 and possibly 2 shots of significant cold air. Timing is uncertain on it all, but the first best shot at a very cold day is March 2. Will sort it out as we go along…
DAYS 11-15 (MARCH 6-10)
General westerly flow, but not so simple a pattern as we again will have to watch several disturbances and run the risk of some significant temperature swings.