New England Weather This Week: High Pressure

This week will generally be dominated by high pressure throughout the week. This will bring dry conditions to most of New England, however, isolated storms will be possible across the interior and mountains around mid-week. Other than that, it will be a seasonable, quiet and comfortable week.

MONDAY

This past weekend's quiet weather will spill into today as high pressure continues to dominate the region. Temperatures will continue to tick upward for much of New England today, with highs across central and southern New England reaching well into the 80s to low 90s (away from the coast). It will be slightly cooler across northernmost New England as a cold front drops into the region. This front will be moisture-starved and will be a dry passage as it pushes through the mountains.

The main weather story for today will be a plume of western wildfire smoke that will be at its thickest of the season for New England. This smoke has been diverted away from New England for much of the summer, but today a heavy plume will be carried right into New England. This will create a hazy sky despite mostly sunny conditions. The smell of smoke may even be in the air, especially across central New England. Air quality alerts are in effect for all but Connecticut, Rhode Island and southernmost Vermont.

Below: Near-surface smoke this afternoon showing a plume being directed out of central Canada and into New England:

TUESDAY-THURSDAY

High pressure will continue to dominate New England's weather this week. The cold front that pushed into northernmost New England will continue to sag south and weaken on Tuesday, bringing a cool-down for all of New England compared to Monday. A persistent easterly flow will emerge thanks to the well-established high pressure over eastern Canada, which will keep the coastal plain a notch cooler than the interior during this time. Overall, it will be seasonable and quiet with low humidity.

The cold front sagging southward may provide enough forcing and energy for some isolated thunderstorms to pop up during each afternoon. These storms would be mainly terrain-driven and remain across the interior and mountains. A majority of New England is expected to remain dry during this time. Storms will likely be most numerous across southern Vermont and interior New Hampshire, especially on Thursday.

Below: Five day precipitation forecast, showing 0.00-0.01" of rainfall expected across much of New England. Rainfall amounts are higher across western New England as storms will have the highest chance of touching off mid-week:

Overall, conditions remain calm across New England with high pressure in place and no strong frontal features poised to move through the region. This well-established high pressure will keep Tropical Storm Dexter well to the south of New England as the storm drifts eastward, away from land. '

FRIDAY & WEEKEND

As we head toward the end of the week, high pressure will likely continue to dominate, keeping mostly to completely dry weather around. Toward the end of the week, an upper-level ridge will likely build over the east coast as surface high pressure continues to shift eastward. This will allow the onshore flow to turn more southerly, creating a warming trend. After a seasonable week with low humidity, temperatures and humidity will begin to climb with each day a notch warmer than the last. Widespread mid 80s to low 90s will likely return by Sunday.