Here's a roundup at what's going on with the weather in New England and around the country this weekend and into next week:
MILD, MOSTLY DRY WEEKEND AHEAD
New England's warming trend will continue through the weekend, with each day getting a notch warmer than the last. Highs Saturday will be in the 60s for nearly everyone on Saturday and well into the 60s to low 70s on Sunday. A sea breeze will keep the coastline cooler.
After a completely dry stretch of weather for New England, showers will return on Sunday. A narrow line of showers (for most) will move through Sunday morning. We write 'for most' since showers will be more numerous across northern Vermont and New Hampshire. Everyone else will see limited shower coverage. Another round of showers will be possible in the evening, but the day will NOT be a washout. Rainfall amounts remain close to a trench of an inch for most, with more possible in the northern Green Mountains.
HRDPS showing potential weather through Sunday (this runs from midnight Sunday to midnight Monday). Some high resolution guidance shows less shower coverage than this one:
TEMPERATURES UP AND DOWN NEXT WEEK
Sunday and Monday will be on the milder side for New England. Tuesday and Wednesday are trending cooler as another frontal system moves through the area, bringing more clouds and showers. An onshore flow off the cool ocean will keep the temperatures down.
A southerly flow will likely develop heading toward the late week ahead of another frontal system on Friday. This will boost temperatures again. Despite the up and down nature of the highs, there won't be any big warm-ups or cool-downs as temps may stay around seasonable levels.
HEAT JUST MISSES NEW ENGLAND
While New England will get mild on Monday, we will largely miss the full-summer heat headed for the Mid-Atlantic. Temperatures in portions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware will shoot well into the 80s with some low 90s possible (Baltimore is looking at a high of 92° on Monday). A cold front and an onshore flow will generally keep New England cooler (as discussed above). Any chance of scraping 80° in New England will be limited to western Connecticut.
COLD NIGHTS END
New England woke up to the chill all week long, with morning lows regularly dropping into the 20s and 30s with some teens across the northern tier. On Friday morning, Montpelier, Vermont tied their all time low temperature record for April 26th when it bottomed out at 22°. This week has been the perfect set up for radiational cooling. For maximum radiational cooling to occur, you need clear skies to allow daytime heat to escape as well as light winds.
High pressure overhead of New England nearly all week allowed for just these conditions to be present. That same high pressure led to generally sunny days, which allowed temperatures to rebound nicely during the day. These cold nights are now over as high pressure slides away and more clouds will be present this week.
PLAINS TORNADO OUTBREAK
A significant tornado outbreak occurred yesterday afternoon and evening. Multiple large and violent tornadoes were reported across Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. There have been over two dozen reports of tornadoes (though the final number is not yet known).
Many homes and structures have been destroyed, a freight train was blown off the tracks, semi trucks were blown off roads. A tornado emergency was issued in the area of Minden, Iowa where a large multi-vortex tornado was reported. No deaths and only minor injuries have been reported as of Saturday morning.
Scenes of damage and tornadoes from yesterday's outbreak:
Credits: Chris Machian; Chris Gannon; Gregg Alliss
MORE SEVERE WEATHER
Unfortunately, this outbreak is not over yet as more severe weather and significant tornadoes are possible in portions of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. A tornado watch has already been issued. Straight-line winds and large hail are also major threats today. On top of this, significant flash flooding will also be possible. It's another dangerous day for the Plains today.
Storm Prediction Center thunderstorm outlook (1st image) and tornado outlook (2nd image):
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