For the cool start and the cloudy finish, we did all right. Highs made low 60s in some spots and upper 50s in others. That’s about 5-8 degrees above normal!
There’s more in store in the days ahead. There are signs that the pattern is shifting, and it favors warmups along the East Coast and New England. But like all spring warmups, there are exceptions.
Southwest winds this time of year can keep things cooler for Buzzards Bay, the Capes and the Islands. In fact, this “indirect sea breeze” is responsible for a good 10-15 (or more) degree temperature drop from communities around Boston and throughout the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire. Plainly put, it could be 70 in Lawrence and 54 in Hyannis. Fact of life living near the water, where ocean temps still hover in the upper 30s and low 40s (brr!!).
While we give the ocean time to warm up, the sun is on our side. Combine it with warmer temperatures in the upper atmosphere, and we have a slam dunk on warm temperatures. That is my “white horse in the stable” for 7 day forecast, and reason that my confidence is running high over the next week for these warm spells.
First up tonight, the rain. Tremendous surge of warm air in the mid levels of the atmosphere will squeeze out a few downpours and perhaps a rumble of thunder in the 1-3am time frame. While the heaviest accumulation of rain appears to be across the Cape and Central Mass, the downpours will be widespread giving all of us at least 1/4″ to 1/2″ of rain.
Rain shifts offshore tomorrow with sun developing and temperatures taking off. Warmth is snuffed out tomorrow only to return on Thursday with another surge on the heels of a southwest wind. So get out the short sleeves, find the rake and start primping those gardens!
And GO SOX!
Pete