New England Weather This Week: Cooler...Then HOT

It's going to be a hot, summery week (after Memorial Day) across New England as our atypical blocking pattern slowly shifts eastward. Here's a breakdown of what to expect this week:

MEMORIAL DAY: COLD FRONT

A backdoor cold front ( which is a cold front that moves east to west instead of the typical west to east) will cross New England. This will shift winds to an easterly direction, which will cool off eastern New England. Areas east of Manchester, Nashua and Worcester will likely see highs (mid 60s) reached around noon with falling temperatures in the afternoon. Western New England will warm nicely, with highs in the low to mid 70s.

TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY: WARMING BACK UP

Tuesday will act as a moderation day between the cooler Monday air and the building heat. The ridge of high pressure responsible for the Rex Block will begin to gradually shift eastward. This will allow temperatures to begin an upward trend. Highs will generally be in the mid 70s to upper 70s. Winds will be out of the southeast, which will keep the coast much cooler than inland. Coastal communities will get stuck in the low 60s.

This general pattern will begin building on Wednesday:

The ridge of high pressure will continue its eastward journey on Wednesday. By Wednesday morning, the ridge will be located in New England, which will allow temperatures to skyrocket. Wednesday will see highs well into the 80s. Once again, a sea breeze will be keeping the beaches noticeably cooler.

High pressure makes it to New England by Wednesday, allowing temperature climb to accelerate:

THURSDAY & FRIDAY: SUMMER HEAT RETURNS...THEN COLD FRONT

Heat this week will peak on Thursday for most, although Friday will be very similar. Highs will be indicative of mid-summer, like this past Sunday. Highs both days will range from the mid 80s to low 90s for most of New England. Friday will likely end up 3-5 degrees cooler in most places. Many areas will be 15-20 degrees above average. Humidity will begin to build on Friday, but it likely won't be to the level of mid-summer.

Friday will see the high pressure ridge begin to break down. Once this happens, it will open a door for a cold front to enter the region. This front will likely drop through the region Friday afternoon during peak heating.

While the exact timing of the front remains to be determined, should it move through in the afternoon during the heat and humidity, New England will be looking at a potentially potent line of thunderstorms. If timing is right, severe thunderstorms will not be out of the question. As of now, it looks like thunderstorm chances will be greatest the further north you go, with the line dwindling as it gets into southern New England.

Showers and storms breaking out ahead of Friday's cold front:

WEEKEND (JUNE 3-4): BACK TO AVERAGE FOR MOST

Behind the cold front, New England will see much cooler temperatures, although much cooler temperatures will still be near average. Some eastern areas will be slightly below average. Highs will generally be in the upper 60s to low 70s. The cold front looks to be another backdoor front. This will allow Vermont, western Massachusetts and Connecticut to get warmer than the rest. Parts of Vermont could still manage to get to the 80 degree mark on Saturday.

Sunday will see highs 5-10 degrees warmer than Saturday as high pressure builds back in. The weekend, along with this entire week is looking to be another dry one, with the exception of the showers and storms possible on Friday.

High pressure builds in after the cold front passage. This will likely lead to another very nice weekend:

NEXT WEEK

An early look at next week is showing some signs of cooler temperatures, although early indications are showing temperatures near average, which is generally the low 70s. Some unsettled weather is also possible, with a couple waves of low pressure crossing the area.

This is getting far out, so we'll have to keep watching to see exactly how this more unsettled weather will impact New England (if it impacts New England at all). After all, New England was looking at a storm this past weekend before the Rex Block came into the picture and saved the holiday weekend.

Potential weather on Tuesday morning, June 6: