The first half of August has been about 1 degree above normal in Southern New England. The next week looks much warmer relative to normal, and another heat wave is possible early next week. Before we get there, however, the temperature will be near normal and there could be a few weekend showers.
There may be more early low clouds and fog on Friday before skies become partly to mostly cloudy. Look for highs in the mid 70s to low 80s with moderate humidity. Clouds will be stubborn again on Saturday, and passing showers are possible. It will be humid with highs again in the mid 70s to low 80s.
Showers and thunderstorms are possible Saturday night as tropical humidity arrives for the end of the weekend and early next week. Sunday will likely be partly cloudy with highs ranging from the low 80s at the beach to near 90 inland .
A heat wave is possible between Sunday and Wednesday of next week as the humidity stays high. The best chance for 90+ heat is away from the coast. It will likely stay in the 70s at night in most towns between Sunday night and at least Wednesday night. The normal high temperature is in the low 80s next week, so it will be much warmer than normal. The hot/humid weather may break late in the workweek, and it looks like a stronger front could bring lower humidity by the end of next weekend.
When will tropics come to life?
There has been a lot of talk about the tropics heating up quickly and this being a “back-loaded” hurricane season with a lot of activity after September 1. Considering that the there hasn’t been a tropical system for nearly a month, calling for an increase in activity as we get closer to the peak of hurricane season is not going too far out on a limb. We’ll see if there is a big surge that pushes this season to above normal activity, but the weather features that have limited development in the past four weeks are easing, and conditions should be favorable for more tropical storms in hurricanes from late August into mid September.