Just in time for the Winter Solstice (yes, winter officially begins this Friday at 5:23PM), we’re tracking a rain storm along with strong southerly winds, which will usher in a warm-up that could be near record-territory.
However, before we officially flip the page to the winter season, and before the heavy rain that is headed our way, we still have tonight and tomorrow to prepare (including, bringing in any holiday decorations that you don’t want to take flight with a gust of wind Friday).
Tonight, expect calm conditions under mostly clear skies with temperatures slipping into the low to mid 20s.
Thursday brings sunshine a plenty before the clouds start to fill in the late afternoon. High temperatures will be above average with afternoon temperatures in the upper 40s to near 50.
We continue that warm-up into Friday with highs expected to reach into the upper 50s to near 60.
The rain starts to fill in well after midnight and into the early morning commute Friday. We do expect a lull in the action by the afternoon on the radar, but that is when the winds will likely start to speed up.
Widespread 1-3″ of rainfall is expected across the region, which is why a Flood Watch has already been issued. Expect ponding on the roadways and some poor drainage flooding as well.
As far as the strongest wind gusts, we expect those to crank in by the afternoon with gusts reaching between 50-55mph along the South Shore and SE MA, with 55-60mph gusts expected along the Cape and Islands. Wind gusts farther inland are expected between 35-45mph. A High Wind Watch has been posted for the Cape and Islands. Expect scattered power outages from Friday morning into the evening.
A few lingering shower are expected to linger into early Saturday morning, then the rest of the weekend looks dry. High temperatures on Saturday are in the low 50s while we’re tracking a much more seasonable and mostly sunny Sunday with highs near 40, just in time for the Patriots game Sunday afternoon.
For Christmas Eve, we can’t rule out a few flurries in the evening, otherwise mostly cloudy with highs into the upper 30s. Christmas Day brings mostly sunny skies and highs into the mid 30s. Looks like the cooling trend continues into next Wednesday with highs in the low 30s with another round of flurries possible. We’ll keep our eyes on it.
