It’s been a few days since we have seen the sun in Southern New England, but at least it hasn’t been too cool. In fact, when you consider the balmy overnight low temperatures, the last three days have averaged about 6 degrees warmer than normal. The sun will finally return on Friday, and it is going to stay quite mild, with temperatures surging into the 70s inland. Enjoy it, but don’t get too used to it, because a major cool shot is coming in for the second half of the Columbus Day weekend. Here are the day by day details.
Friday – Best of Both Worlds
The storm that has been bothersome since Tuesday will be moving away from Southern New England by dawn Friday. We may see clouds at the start of the day, but by mid-morning we’ll have sunshine and mild temperatures. The day should actually start out fairly mild, with the sunrise temperature in the mid to upper 50s. By midday, it will be in the 70s inland, and near 70 at the coast. If the wind shifts to the southwest in the afternoon, the temperature will fall into the 60s near the coast while staying in the mid 70s inland. Friday evening should be nice, with the temperature falling through the 60s into the mid to upper 50s by early Saturday morning.
Saturday – The transition day
It will be mild from the start on Saturday, and the temperature should reach the 70s by noon. The sky will be mostly sunny early, then partly cloudy by early to mid-afternoon. An increasing southwesterly breeze will gust over 20 mph and cool the coast. A few passing showers are possible in the late-afternoon or evening. Once the front moves through, the temperature will start to free-fall on a northwesterly breeze. It should dip to about 50 by early Sunday morning.
Sunday – From mezza mezza to miserable
It will be cloudy to mostly cloudy Sunday morning. The high point of the day may right around noon, when the clouds may not yet be too thick, and the temperature makes it into the mid to upper 50s. It’s all downhill from there. Look for clouds to thicken during the afternoon, and rain will arrive first in SW RI and spread northeast. Once the rain starts falling, so will the temperature. I expect it to be in the 40s with rain for most, if not all, of the Pats-Broncos game. I would not be at all surprised if the Berkshires picked up some snow Sunday night as this system moves by. The rest of us will see chilly rain with temps in the upper 30s to mid 40s.
Columbus Day – Drier, but chilly
Any rain should depart before 8AM on Columbus Day. The sky will clear pretty quickly behind the departing storm. It will be breezy, dry and cool Monday afternoon. Highs will be 50-55°, even with the sunshine. Monday night looks chilly, with the chance of some frost, especially in the countryside.
Even though the temperature will moderate some by the middle of next week, it might not be a bad idea to put away the summer clothes and face the reality that fall is upon us.