4:44PM

Yes, it is true. We are about half way through the final week of July. Don’t despair, summer lovers. There is still much summer left, and even though you will soon notice that those sunsets are not quite as late as they were in June and July, it is still light well into the evening and will continue to be this way for a few more weeks. And we are just passing by the climatological temperature max, so there will be plenty of beach days ahead, and some of the warmest ocean water of the year still is in the time before us.

The weather in the Boston area will be changeable the next few days, though no drastic changes are expected. This will lead to a very nice mid summer weekend. I hope most of you are able to enjoy what will be a great weekend for beaches, pools, bbq’s, and other outdoor activities. On the way to the weekend, we may have to go through a few showers and thunderstorms on Friday, as a weak cold front (more like “drier air front”) moves through, as Friday will be on the humid side and the weekend, though very warm, will be drier. Before we get there, clouds in the sky this afternoon are associated with a pool of cold air passing north of us. This cold pool is what was responsible for the scattered severe thunderstorms yesterday. Once this moves away tonight, the clouds will dissipate. Thursday, a warm front approaching from the west will send some high clouds into the area, filtering the sun at times. These clouds will thicken at night and may produce a few showers, as the leading edge of Friday’s muggy air moves in.

Forecast for the last 4 days of July…

TONIGHT: Decreasing low clouds. Low from the upper 50s rural and suburban areas to lower 60s coastal areas and urban centers. Wind NW up to 10 MPH shifting to N.

THURSDAY: Increasing high clouds. High from the middle 70s immediate coast to the lower 80s well inland. Wind N up to 10 MPH shifting to E.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of a few light showers, especially west and north of Boston. Low 63-68. Wind E under 10 MPH shifting to S.

FRIDAY: Partly sunny. Scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon hours. High 82-87. Wind S 5-15 MPH shifting to SW.

FRIDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Low 64-69. Wind SW 5-15 MPH shifting to W.

SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. High 85-90. Wind W 5-15 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear. Low 64-69. Wind W under 10 MPH.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. High 84-89 except cooler near the coast. Wind variable 5-15 MPH with coastal seabreezes possible.

A peek ahead to the first few days of August…

MONDAY: Variably cloudy. Scattered showers. Low 65. High 81.

TUESDAY: Partly sunny. Isolated thunderstorms. Low 68. High 92.

WEDNESDAY: Partly sunny. Scattered thunderstorms. Low 69. High 89.

10:40AM

TODAY: Partly cloudy. High 80-85. Wind NW 10-15 MPH.

TONIGHT: Mostly clear. Low 55-60. Wind light N.

THURSDAY: Mostly sunny. High 75-80. Wind E 5-15 MPH.

FRIDAY: PM thunderstorms. Low 64. High 89.

SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 66. High 90.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 66. High 88.

12:25AM

OVERNIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Patchy fog. Isolated showers and possibly a thunderstorm.  Low 60-65. Wind SE under 10 MPH becoming S.

TUESDAY: Partly cloudy. Patchy fog and a chance of a shower before 7AM. Thunderstorms possible between 4PM & 8PM from west northwest to east southeast. High 80-85. Wind S 5-15 MPH becoming SW.

TUESDAY  NIGHT: Partly cloudy. Low 60-65. Wind W 5-15 MPH.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. High 80-85. Wind WNW 5-15 MPH.

THURSDAY: Variably cloudy. Late shower possible. Low 64. High 84.

FRIDAY: Partly sunny. Chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Low 68. High 89.

SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 66. High 91.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 67. High 88.

4:28PM

Updated Boston area forecast to indicate slightly faster timing of showers arriving…

REMAINDER OF AFTERNOON/EVENING: Cloudy with episodes of showers, heaviest to the north and west of Boston but briefly moderate to heavy showers are possible in other areas. Temperature steady 68 to 73. Wind light SE.

TONIGHT: Cloudy. Scattered showers and a slight chance of a few thunderstorms. Low 63 to 68. Wind S up to 10 MPH.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy with a few lingering showers possible during the early morning. Mostly sunny mid morning through mid afternoon. Variably cloudy late afternoon through early evening with a chance of a few passing showers and thunderstorms. High 82 to 87. Wind W 10 to 20 MPH.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Clearing. Low 60 to 65. Wind NW 5 to 15 MPH.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. High 80 to 85. Wind NW 10 to 15 MPH.

THURSDAY: Partly cloudy. Chance of showers and thunderstorms mainly late in the day. Low 64. High 86.

FRIDAY: Partly sunny. Chance of showers and thunderstorms mainly in the afternoon. Low 68. High 89.

SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 70. High 92.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 68. High 88.

11:30PM

A memorable weather week is drawing to a close, highlighted by record heat on Friday and some severe storms across southeastern MA on Saturday. What’s coming up in the week ahead? Read on…

A warm front approaching from the southwest will send clouds into the region Monday, though most shower activity should occur at night. It will be on the cool side ahead of this front during the day. We’ll be in the warm sector on Tuesday when it will become more humid, though not excessively so. A cold front moving through during the evening may trigger a few thunderstorms. This sets us up for a great day Wednesday with warm and dry weather as high pressure builds over the region. This high will slide off the East Coast by Thursday and Friday, allowing the humidity and some heat to return. A couple disturbances passing through the region may cause some showers and thunderstorms at times on those days. Looking ahead to next weekend, the early call is warm to hot and dry.

Detailed forecast for the Boston area…

TONIGHT: Mostly clear. Low 55 to 60 except 60 to 65 urban centers. Wind light variable.

MONDAY: Increasing clouds. High 74 to 79. Wind E up to 10 MPH.

MONDAY NIGHT: Cloudy. Scattered showers and a slight chance of a few thunderstorms. Low 63 to 68. Wind S up to 10 MPH.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy with a few lingering showers possible during the early morning. Mostly sunny mid morning through mid afternoon. Variably cloudy late afternoon through early evening with a chance of a few passing showers and thunderstorms. High 82 to 87. Wind W 10 to 20 MPH.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Clearing. Low 60 to 65. Wind NW 5 to 15 MPH.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. High 80 to 85. Wind NW 10 to 15 MPH.

THURSDAY: Partly cloudy. Chance of showers and thunderstorms mainly late in the day. Low 64. High 86.

FRIDAY: Partly sunny. Chance of showers and thunderstorms mainly in the afternoon. Low 68. High 89.

SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 70. High 92.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 68. High 88.

10:41AM

Sometimes cold fronts that look like they want to chug through and clean out the air just run out of gas as they come in, and this one has done just that, probably partly due to a disturbance that went by yesterday and bent the air flow around a little bit more from the southwest, which is slowing the forward progress of the front. And even when this front gets by us this evening, it will be set to return as a warm front later Monday, only to have another cold front try to push through on Tuesday. What this means is that the weather will be on the unsettled side (though not bad all the time) for the next 3 days.

High pressure should give a very nice day or 2 at midweek, before heat makes a run at us again at the end of the week. More about the heat threat in The Week Ahead blog tonight.

In the mean time, the Boston Area weather is expected to pan out pretty close to this…

TODAY: Mostly cloudy to partly sunny. A few episodes of scattered showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms. Warm and still humid. High 80 to 85 except 75 to 80 at the beaches. Wind N to NE up to 10 mph.

TONIGHT: Partly cloudy. Mild and less humid. Low 60 to 65. Wind light variable.

MONDAY: Increasing clouds. Chance of showers in the afternoon. High 70 to 75 coast 75 to 80 inland. Wind SE 5 to 15 mph.

MONDAY NIGHT: Cloudy. Periods of showers and possibly a few thunderstorms. Mild and more humid. Low 65 to 70. Wind S 5 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy to partly sunny and hazy. Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Warm and humid. High 80 to 85. Wind S to SW 10 to 20 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 63. High 82.

THURSDAY: Partly sunny. Low 66. High 86.

FRIDAY: Partly cloudy. Low 67. High 89.

2:47AM

TODAY: Mostly cloudy with showers and a few thunderstorms crossing the region between 7AM and 9AM (a bit later south of Boston), then increasing sunshine west to east by midday. Hot and moderately humid. High 92 to 97. Wind W 5 to 15 mph with higher gusts. Briefly strong and gusty winds possible with showers and storms early in the day.

TONIGHT: Partly cloudy. Warm and drier. Low 70 to 75. Wind NW 5 to 10 mph.

SUNDAY: Partly cloudy in the morning. Sunny in the afternoon. Mild and dry. High 74 to 79 coast, 80 to 85 inland. Wind N 10 to 15 mph shifting to NE.

MONDAY: Increasing clouds. Evening showers. Low 59. High 79.

TUESDAY: Partly sunny. Scattered showers/thunderstorms. Low 64. High 83.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 61. High 81.

THURSDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 64. High 86.

FRIDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 68. High 89.

4:19PM

The hottest days in Boston are usually with winds straight out of the west. Today is no exception. But with that west wind, we often see it very hot and not as humid. Again, that’s the case. The haze has left us for the most part, the air is cleaner, and drying out. Boston’s dew point has dropped from an oppressive 75 almost all the way through the 60s. The temperature has gone over 100 at Logan Airport (tied record of 103), and hit or slightly exceeded 100 in several other cities and towns, but with the lower dew point, the heat index today is not much different from yesterday. And there is a nice enough breeze for ventilation, maybe not as strong as yesterday’s breeze, but still would be worse if winds were under 10 mph the entire time.

What is coming up?

While the humidity is on the decrease, overall, the heat will still be with us through Saturday, even as a cold front moves through. The cooler air will wait until Saturday night and Sunday to move in, as high pressure builds north of us and turns the wind north to even northeast for a time later in the weekend.

Looking into next week, more “normal” July temperatures can be expected for the first half of the week, but there are some signs of a return to heat for the second half of the week. We’ll take a closer look at that later this weekend with The Week Ahead blog.

The latest detailed forecast for the Boston Area and nearby regions…

THROUGH SUNSET: Sunshine, hot, and dry. Temperatures currently in the upper 90s to around 100 will coast back through the 90s to the upper 80s. Wind W 10 to 20 mph.

TONIGHT: Mostly clear. Warm and not as humid. Low ranging from the upper 60s in the suburbs to the upper 70s in urban centers. Wind W 5 to 15 mph.

SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. Hot and moderately humid to drier. High 93 to 98. Wind NW 5 to 15 mph.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy. Warm and drier. Low 70 to 75. Wind NW 5 to 10 mph.

SUNDAY: Partly cloudy in the morning. Sunny in the afternoon. Mild and dry. High 74 to 79 coast, 80 to 85 inland. Wind N 10 to 15 mph shifting to NE.

MONDAY: Increasing clouds. Evening showers. Low 59. High 79.

TUESDAY: Partly sunny. Scattered showers/thunderstorms. Low 64. High 83.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 61. High 81.

THURSDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 64. High 86.

FRIDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 68. High 89.

This update is being sent by phone. Full update this afternoon!

Boston Area Forecast

TODAY: Sunny. Very hot but slightly less humid than yesterday. High 96-101. Heat index 101-108. Wind W 10-20 MPH.

TONIGHT: Partly cloudy. Very warm and humid. Low 75-80. Wind W 5-15 MPH.

SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. Hot but drying. High 92-97. Wind NW 5-15 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Clear. Cooler and dry. Low 64-69. Wind N 5-15 MPH.

SUNDAY: Sunny. Mild and dry. High 75-80 coast and 80-85 inland. Wind NE 5-15 MPH.

MONDAY: PM thunderstorms. Low 64. High 81.

TUESDAY: AM showers. Low 62. High 82.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 59. High 80.

8:16PM

See previous post for discussion. No major changes for this forecast, just some tweaking.

TONIGHT: Mostly clear but smoke aloft at times. Warm and humid. Low 66 to 71. Wind SW 10 to 15 mph.

THURSDAY: Hazy sunshine. Very slight risk of an isolated air mass thunderstorm in the afternoon. Hot and humid. High 93 to 98. Wind SW 10 to 20 mph with higher gusts.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Clear and hazy. Very warm and humid. Low 75 to 80. Wind SW 10 to 15 mph with higher gusts early.

FRIDAY: Hazy sunshine. Very hot and humid. High 96 to 101. Wind W 10 to 15 mph.

SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 77. High 93.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 66. High 82.

MONDAY: Partly cloudy. Low 64. High 85.

TUESDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 65. High 86.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 64. High 83.

10:49PM

The smoke that drifted in from Canada above us came in 2 stages today, one this morning that filtered the sun for most of the morning hours, and another batch for a couple hours during the afternoon. A few more smoke patches may drift across the sky through tomorrow.

Here’s the difference between here and Oklahoma City. We’re not going to be near or above 100 for days and days. We have a heatwave coming, 3 or possibly 4 days (Wednesday-Saturday though not everyone will hit 90 Wednesday). A break comes Sunday and early next week. It’s too early to tell if heat will return mid or late next week. One thing is for sure, above normal temperatures and dry weather will be the rule for several days to come.

For more on the heat, see this link from our friends at the National Weather Service:

http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=box&wwa=excessive%20heat%20watch

And this is what I come up with for a forecast for the Boston area after looking things over…

OVERNIGHT: Mostly clear. Mild and moderately humid. Low 62 to 67. Wind light variable.

WEDNESDAY: Sunny. Hot and moderately humid. High 86 to 91. Wind S 5 to 15 mph.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Clear. Warm and humid. Low 66 to 71. Wind SW 5 to 10 mph.

THURSDAY: Hazy sunshine. Very hot and humid. High 95 to 100. Wind W 10 to 20 mph.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Clear and hazy. Very warm and humid. Low 75 to 80. Wind W 5 to 15 mph.

FRIDAY: Hazy sunshine. Very slight chance of an isolated air mass thunderstorm in the afternoon. Very hot and humid. High 94 to 99. Wind SW 5 to 15 mph.

SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 77. High 93.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 66. High 82.

MONDAY: Partly cloudy. Low 64. High 85.

TUESDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 65. High 86.

10:17PM

Detailed Boston Area Forecast…

OVERNIGHT: Partly cloudy. A few areas of fog may form especially over wetland areas. Mild and muggy. Low 65 to 70. Wind NW 5 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY: Partly cloudy to mostly sunny. Slight risk of isolated showers or thunderstorms, especially along and south of the Mass Pike. Very warm and moderately humid. High 84 to 89. Wind N 5 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear. Mild but drier. Low 61 to 66. Wind NW up to 10 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Hot and dry. High 86 to 91. Wind NW 5 to 15 mph shifting to SW.

THURSDAY: Hazy sunshine. Low 71. High 94.

FRIDAY: Hazy sunshine. Low 77. High 99.

SATURDAY: Partly cloudy. Isolated thunderstorms. Low 74. High 90.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 63. High 82.

6:30PM

Good evening Woods Hill Weather readers! I hope you are enjoying this blog and getting useful info out of it. If you haven’t commented yet, please do so! You can use any name you like (keep it clean), and your email is needed only once for approval (nobody else will see it).

First, I’m going to address the storm threat that continues through the evening hours, then we’ll look ahead to the rest of the week to see how hot it may get and if there will be any other storms, and of course a peek at the weekend (it’s never too early to think about the weekend, is it?).

We have seen several bands of showers and a few thunderstorms roll through southern New England from NW to SE today. Strong to severe storms have been very limited, however, up to this point. Extensive cloud cover and rain-cooled air has prevented the atmosphere from becoming very unstable. However, with a frontal system still to our north, and having to move through the muggy and somewhat unstable air  mass in place, I cannot rule out thunderstorms until sometime between 8PM and 11PM from north to south across southern NH and eastern MA. There are storms in upstate NY and northern New England sinking to the S & SE. Some of these, or other storms that form, may make it down into southern New England during the next few hours. At this point I do not see a widespread outbreak of storms, but any storms that do make it down here will have the potential to produce heavy downpours, hail, strong and gusty winds, and frequent lightning. So be on the look-out for threatening weather approaching from the northwest or north. Once these storms push south or dissipate later tonight, we should be quiet in terms of storms during the overnight hours.

With the boundary hanging around over far southern New England Tuesday and a little moisture in the air, I can’t rule out a few pop up showers and storms on Tuesday. Most areas will see nothing, with just a mostly sunny to partly cloudy, very warm, and moderately humid day. High pressure will build over the area at all levels of the atmosphere Wednesday with a sunny, warm to hot day, but not too humid. By Thursday and Friday, surface high pressure will build just off the East Coast and upper level high pressure remaining over New England will produce hazy, hot, and humid weather. Thunderstorms should be limited or not occur at all, despite the surface heat, because of very warm air aloft, which limits storms. There is always a slight risk of a pop up air mass thunderstorm in that kind of heat, though, but I will leave them out of the forecast for now.

By the time we get to Friday night or Saturday, a cold front should move through the region, taking the edge of the heat. The timing of this front will determine how hot Saturday is. This front may also produce some thunderstorms Friday night or Saturday. By Sunday, heat and humidity will be noticeably lower.

Detailed Boston Area Forecast…

TONIGHT: Variably cloudy. Isolated to scattered shower and thunderstorms mainly between 8PM & 11PM from north to south. Not all areas will see them. Areas that do may experience downpours, small hail, strong & gusty winds, and frequent lightning. Areas of ground fog after 11PM dissipating about dawn. Mild and muggy. Low 65 to 70. Wind NW 5 to 15 mph, except variable and possibly strong and gusty around any storms.

TUESDAY: Partly cloudy to mostly sunny. Slight risk of isolated showers or thunderstorms, especially along and south of the Mass Pike. Very warm and moderately humid. High 84 to 89. Wind N 5 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear. Mild but drier. Low 61 to 66. Wind NW up to 10 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Hot and dry. High 86 to 91. Wind NW 5 to 15 mph shifting to SW.

THURSDAY: Hazy sunshine. Low 71. High 94.

FRIDAY: Hazy sunshine. Low 77. High 99.

SATURDAY: Partly cloudy. Isolated thunderstorms. Low 74. High 90.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 63. High 82.

** NOTE: This blog will be updated with the same discussion and forecast, excluding the information about tonight’s storms, once the threat of storms is over later tonight.

Headlines… Thunderstorms Monday, heat blast later this week.

Discussion… A very warm and muggy Monday may turn quite stormy as a cold front bumps into the muggy air, setting off thunderstorms especially this afternoon & evening. Thunderstorms may become severe in some areas, with the primary threat being from damaging straight-line winds. The front will pass through at night but sit near the New England South Coast Tuesday, and one more disturbance coming along may trigger a few showers. High pressure will build in with drier air for Wednesday but move offshore into the heat pump position for Thursday through Saturday. While this happens, high pressure will also build in the upper atmosphere later in this week, and the heat will really blast in. The ridge may weaken and a cold front may provide some relief by the end of next weekend.

Boston Area Forecast…

TODAY: Variably cloudy and hazy. Isolated showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms in the morning. Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. Thunderstorms may be strong to severe. Very warm and muggy. High 85 to 90. Wind SW 10 to 20 mph with higher gusts.

TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Showers and thunderstorms likely during the evening hours, diminishing to a few showers later at night. Any thunderstorms may be strong to severe. Warm and humid. Low 70 to 75. Wind SW to W 5 to 15 mph.

TUESDAY: Partly sunny. Isolated to scattered showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms. Warm and humid. High 82 to 87. Wind W 5 to 15 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 65. High 86.

THURSDAY: Hazy sunshine. Low 70. High 94.

FRIDAY: Hazy sunshine. Low 74. High 99.

SATURDAY: Partly sunny. PM thunderstorms. Low 77. High 96.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 68. High 86.

9:44AM

If you are in the Boston area, summer weekends don’t get much better than this one. Saturday: Lots of sun, a few developing fair-weather clouds, not too humid, very warm but not overly hot, light sea breeze coast. Sunday: Lots of sun, turning more humid, a bit hotter, light land breeze. Admittedly, I’m sure some of you that are not fans of heat won’t like Sunday as much, but when you think of classic summer weather, you know a day like that is going to be part of it here at times. We can thank a high pressure area sitting over us for the great weather this weekend. However, as this high builds offshore and a cold front moves in from the west on Monday, the stage will be set for thunderstorms which can occur over about a 12 hour period. We’ll have to watch for some severe thunderstorms, but I don’t expect a widespread severe weather outbreak at this point. Once we get by the storm threat of Monday, more great summer weather is ready for the balance of next week!

Detailed Boston area forecast…

TODAY: Mostly sunny to partly cloudy. Very warm and dry. High 85 to 90 except slightly cooler along the shore. Wind light variable with coastal sea breezes.

TONIGHT: Mostly clear to partly cloudy. Mild and more humid. Low 64 to 69. Wind light S.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Hotter and more humid. High 87 to 92. Wind W up to 10 mph.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear to partly cloudy and hazy. Warm and muggy. Low 70 to 75. Wind SW up to 10 mph.

MONDAY: Partly sunny and hazy. Showers and thunderstorms any time in the afternoon. Thunderstorms may be strong to severe in some locations. Hot and muggy. High 85 to 90. Wind SW 10 to 20 mph with higher gusts.

TUESDAY: Partly cloudy. Low 61. High 82.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 64. High 85.

THURSDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 66. High 88.

FRIDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 68. High 90.