Editor’s Note: This blog post was written by 7News meteorological intern Tyler Hughes.
Today was a much-needed dry day across New England, but the lack of rainfall came with a different, yet familiar twist: wildfire smoke. Wildfires continue to burn in Alberta and Western Canada, and a dip in the jet stream has “trapped” a plume of wildfire smoke in between two frontal boundaries. This means we’ll continue to see a smoky haze in the sky tomorrow.
In fact, an Air Quality Alert is in effect for Southern NH, Worcester County and points west until tomorrow at midnight for ground-level smoke that approaches unhealthy levels. The thickest plume of smoke should stay to the west of Metro Boston, but there will still be a noticeable haze in the air.
The smoke will be pushed out tomorrow evening by an approaching cold front, which will also bring a chance of showers/storms with it. I don’t think any storms will become as severe as we saw Sunday (in part due to wildfire smoke), but showers and a rumble of thunder are possible across western Mass and into southern NH. Boston, the Cape and Islands should stay dry well into the evening hours.
Since the wildfire smoke will be concentrated away from the coasts, the next few days won’t be bad at all if you’re looking to hit the beaches! Clouds will hang around the Cape and Islands tomorrow but clear out Wednesday, with temperatures each day running in the mid-to-upper 70s in most spots with a healthy seabreeze. If you’re lucky enough to be laying on the beach this week, keep in mind the UV index remains quite high (it remains low in the office, where I’ll be this week).
A few dry days this week are some much-needed relief to those continuing to deal with flooding around New England. Worcester is currently 8″ above average rainfall for the summer, with almost 10″ of that rainfall in July alone. That sets July 2023 so far as the 4th wettest July on record there, with more than two weeks left to go in the month. Boston also is running quite above average for rainfall so far this summer.
Aside from tomorrow’s afternoon shower/storm chance, we remain dry through Thursday. Thursday will also see some relief from the muggy dew points, at least for about a day or so before the moisture returns Friday alongside showers and storms. All told, things look to be clearing up for the weekend.
This could just be the beginning of the end of our rainy summer pattern after all. For now, we’ll just wait and see. Have a great night!
-Tyler