Here’s your Memorial Day weather forecast

Volunteers began placing 37,400 American flags on Boston Common Wednesday morning to honor fallen Massachusetts service members since the Revolutionary War.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Warm, even summer-like, temperatures will join us for Memorial Day weekend.

It won’t be as bright Friday as it was earlier this week, nor as it will be later this weekend. There could still be some splashes of sunshine here and there the next two days. Look for highs approaching 80 Friday afternoon, staying in the 70s Saturday, along with a chance for scattered showers. The highest chance for rain Saturday will be in the morning and again in the evening.

Total expected rainfall will be very inconsistent through Saturday evening as some areas see a downpour and others miss the rain completely.COD Weather

If you want to head to the beach, Monday is your best day, with high temperatures near 90 inland and in the 70s at the beaches. Sunday will be the most comfortable day, with low humidity and highs 75-81 degrees except closer to 70 over Cape Cod.

Highs Saturday will be mainly in the 70s.NOAA

People’s holiday exoduses to Cape Cod and to locations north of us to New Hampshire and Maine will be underway this afternoon. The forecast for northern New England is very similar to what we expect here in Massachusetts, with a chance for showers overnight tonight into Saturday before two beautiful days Sunday and Monday. It will not be as hot on Monday there as here, with temperatures around 80 inland and cooler on the Maine and New Hampshire seacoasts.

Sunday will be a bit warmer with inland areas at or just above 80 degrees.NOAA

High tide will generally be between 11 a.m. and noon this weekend. Water temperatures continue to be in the 50s, which is what you’d expect this time of year. Although it will certainly be warm enough to go in the water, especially on Memorial Day, that water will still be numbing.

This is the final weekend of meteorological spring. Meteorological summer begins June 1st and signals what should be the warmest three months of the year. Our pattern this spring has been warm and dry — this is the driest spring since 1964 and the reason we are in a drought. There’s absolutely nothing that can be done to make it rain, so we just have to deal with the lack thereof. This means if you’re headed out to plant window boxes, containers, or your favorite new perennial or shrub, you’re going to need to keep the soil evenly moist on your own.

Greater Boston is experiencing moderate drought conditions this spring.NOAA

Established plants will struggle in a drought, but one of the things that I noticed from the last major drought is that things do recover when rain eventually returns. If you have something that’s under stress, a drought can be the final nail in the coffin for it, but generally, most plants that have been around for a long time will lumber through.

While there is a chance for a few showers Friday night and Saturday up until mid-evening, if you receive a shower or even a thunderstorm, consider yourself lucky. Some areas will miss the rainfall all together while some towns get a downpour. This type of rainfall does not alleviate the dry conditions — it only slows it down in scattered locations.

I don’t see any change in the long-term pattern. This means more dry days and then wet ones ahead, and on a holiday weekend, I think most of you will be happy about that.