Get ready for a mild weekend! Highs will be in the low 60s today and upper 60s tomorrow. Today might be your more comfortable day to be outside with less wind and some sun. Tomorrow the wind cranks up ahead of a cold front ushering in rain.
This morning we’re waking up to some fog. That’s thanks to a light southerly wind pushing in more low level moisture. Clouds will favor southeast Mass today and could be tough to clear there and along the coast. Otherwise we will see some sun inland. Highs will be mild near 60°/low 60s inland. It will be cooler on the coast in the 50s and some 40s for the Cape and Islands. The wind won’t be strong today, but there will be a slight breeze this afternoon.
The big weather story across the country is a dynamic system that’s brought active tornado warnings overnight in the Midwest. This morning there are severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings from the Ohio River Valley to the South. There will be a second round of severe weather later today. There’s a rare high risk (Level 5 out of 5) for an outbreak of severe storms to develop for portions of Alabama and Mississippi. Conditions will be favorable for damaging and long tracking tornadoes.
The severe threat shifts to the Mid Atlantic tomorrow. We are not expecting severe storms in southern New England. We will get gusty wind, but gusts should stay below the severe weather threshold of 58 mph.
Tomorrow is mainly dry. There will be spotty sprinkles in the morning. We’ll see overcast conditions. The line of rain moves in from the west closer to midnight and the early morning hours Monday. Downpours and rumbles of thunder are possible as this moves through. Monday stays soggy as we keep the rain throughout the day. The axis of heavier rain sets up across southeast Mass. That’s where we’re expecting higher totals of 2″+.
It’ll be off to a breezy start tomorrow morning. In the afternoon, gusts could reach 30-45 mph. The strongest gusts will be in the higher elevations. It stays gusty tomorrow evening ahead of the cold front.
The good thing about the strong southerly wind? It helps to boost our temperatures. It will feel warm out there tomorrow with highs in the upper 60s. For perspective, Boston’s record high is 71° set in 2000. I don’t think we’ll reach it, but we won’t be too far off in the upper 60s. That being said, the Euro Ensemble gives a shot (although it’s low!) at some towns in the Merrimack Valley hitting 70°. The Cape and Islands stay in the 50s with an onshore wind.
We dry out Tuesday and Wednesday, then welcome spring on Thursday. The start of spring comes with the chance for showers.
-Meteorologist Melanie Black